Endless Night
by Jack Stall
Summary: The sequel to 'Morning Light'. Following the events of the previous book, Terry starts to break down. Can Jacob save Terry from himself? Find out with me in Endless Night. Homosexual. JacobXOC. R&R much appreciated.
1. Nightmares

A/N: Surprise! I know I said you'd have to wait until I finished Jacob's point of view but I figured I might as well start this one as well. After this chapter, I might start writing author's notes at the bottom of the chapters, something I didn't do in 'Morning Light'.

Alright, without further ado, I give you Endless Night.

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

1. NIGHTMARES

It had been two weeks since I was attacked by Leah. I was able to walk around again, but using a cane like Carlisle had said.

My first day trying to walk was something to see. I would take a few steps perfectly fine and then put too much pressure a certain way on my leg and collapse to the ground in pain. Spouting off a few choice swears here and there.

Jacob was a big help though, after the first time I fell, he was always right there ready to catch me if I leaned too far one way or another. It was like being a toddler learning to walk all over again.

Jacob constantly made sure that if I needed something, I didn't need it for very long. If I so much as tried to get up while he was around, he'd immediately ask what I needed and take off running to get it.

But as he said, he had started school again. His senior year if you could imagine that. A body of a twenty-five year old muscle man in twelfth grade.

While he was away at school, I needed to fend for myself. Which wasn't that hard. If I needed something, I'd go get it. I mostly just laid in his bed all day.

The problems came in the form of nightmares.

Every night, without fail, since I had woken up from the hospital, I had been having terrible nightmares. Much like the painful memories I had. Flashes of teeth and claws, snarling and growling.

But just when the dreams got too much for me to take, Jacob would wake me up asking if I was ok.

There were a few times I had woken up in tears, screaming for help.

I could see the effect it was having on Jacob. The pain was visible in his eyes. He wanted so badly to help, but there was really nothing he could do. But when I woke up form each nightmare, he'd hold me close and hum some tune I couldn't recognize.

It calms me down enough for me to fall back asleep, back into the nightmares.

It had been two weeks since the attack, and I hadn't slept very much at all.

The days were better though. I no longer had the memories of that day eating at the corners of my mind.

When Jacob would come home from school he'd scoop me up into his arms and we'd talk about his day. Then he'd ask me how mine was. My days were never as interesting or as well described as his were.

There was one day in particular that I found funny. Jacob and Embry were in the same gym class one day on opposite teams playing dodge ball. Naturally, they were the last two remaining.

They both ducked and dodged each others throws until Jacob got one lucky hit on Embry. The dodge ball hit Embry so hard in the chest it popped.

Needless to say there were many surprised faces.

What usually happened when me and Jacob laid down together is he would eventually place his hand on my thigh that was almost done healing over, and his face would always turn sad.

I never understood why he still got upset about it. I figured it had to do with me not being able to sleep through the night since then.

I really just wished we could move on.

I had a life to live with Jacob. I wanted to go out with him, and live. Not be confined to a cane, and his constant mood swings from happy to be with me, to upset that I was injured.

The sound of the phone ringing, broke me out of my thoughts.

Jacob got up form the bed and answered. "Yeah?"

When Jacob hears something he doesn't really want to hear, his face always changes through several different emotions before deciding on one. This one was a mix between anger and concern.

"I don't think that's a good idea. Because," Jacob whispered the next part, but I could still hear it. "he still has nightmares about you."

He was talking to Leah. That much I knew.

"'Why?'! Why do you think? You _attacked_ him!" Apparently he forgot I was here as he started yelling. "I don't want you to see him. Not now, not ever. You're ruining… everything…"

Those words shocked me. I thought about them. I suppose it was true. What happened with Leah in the clearing was tearing me and Jacob apart at the seams. Thinking about not being with Jacob made me wince.

Jacob looked at me. "Are you ok?"

I nodded. _He must've thought my wincing was because of my leg… _I tried to think clearly. _Maybe, maybe making amends with Leah will stop the nightmares… _"Jacob, I want to see Leah."

His jaw dropped. "What…? Why? I mean she almost killed you… Are you sure?"

Was I sure? No. But I would try anything to keep my relationship with Jacob, and if talking to Leah was what I needed to do, so be it.

Jacob stared at me mystified as he talked to Leah. "I guess Terry wants to see you. You can come over here." He hung up the phone.

I stared into his eyes. He was still dumbfounded by my request.

He sat back down on the bed and held me close. "I hope you know what you're doing…"

_You and me both…_


	2. Falling

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

2. FALLING

Waiting for Leah to show up at Jacob's house was the most anxiety I've felt in a long time.

Who knew how this would end up?

Was Leah really stable enough to see me and Jacob? Does she just want to talk? Is she coming to hurt me again? Will she not intentionally hurt me, just happen to snap again because of something Jacob or I say? Will it be something she just thinks herself that sets her off?

All of these questions danced around my head as I sat with Jacob, his warm arms wrapped around me.

"I'll protect you…" Jacob whispered into my ear. "If anything goes wrong, you will _not_ get hurt. Not this time. I swear it."

"I know. I trust you." I did trust Jacob, how could I not? He imprinted on me. It was his duty to protect me. I wouldn't let the fact that I got hurt try to rip apart my faith in him. I trusted him with my life. _He is my life…_

It only took a few minutes for Leah to get there, but the few minutes felt like hours.

Eventually Jacob turned his head and looked out the window. Leah was outside. "Are you ready?"

I nodded. I didn't want to open my mouth because I was afraid my words would betray me. I didn't want Jacob to know I was terrified. I grabbed my cane and stood up. Jacob held his hands out. "Do you want me to carry you?"

"Jacob, I can handle walking!" I didn't mean to snap at him.

He looked down. "Sorry." He lead the way outside.

Leah was a good twenty feet away from the house. She stood with an emotionless face. Just looking at her face sent a chill down my spine. I remembered her grinding her teeth in fury, and then she exploded into a wolf, barring a new set of teeth. Those teeth were much bigger and deadlier.

The shock wave of the memory startled me. I shook and leaned the wrong way. All of my weight ended up on my right leg, which buckled under the pain. I collapsed to the ground holding my leg.

Jacob was helping me up instantly. "I wanted to carry you so this didn't happen…"

"Damn it Jacob! Let me be! I can pick myself up…" _What's wrong with me…?_

Jacob flinched as I yelled at him. He reluctantly stepped back as I lifted myself up off the ground. I hated seeing Jacob like this. I couldn't understand why I was so easily aggravated. He placed a hand on my back. "I'm sorry."

I looked at him in shock. _Why does he apologize for things that aren't his fault…?_

All the while Leah was still standing perfectly still, she hadn't moved or changed expression since we got outside. She greeted us by our names only. "Jacob. Terry." There was no emotion in her tone.

She was trying hard. I respect her for that.

Jacob only stared at her, ready to stop her if she were to attack again.

"H-hi Leah…" I had to focus to keep my mind from running back to the day in the clearing.

We were all silent for a while. Jacob was running out of patience. "What do you want Leah?"

"I came here…" For the first time since she got here, her face changed. Sorrow. "To apologize."

Jacob and I just looked at her.

"I want to apologize for my behavior. It was wrong of me to get upset because of my misfortunes. I shouldn't have gotten so angry." Her eyes met mine and they held true sadness. "I'm so sorry I hurt you Terry…"

"I… I understand. You were just mad. I felt bad for you when I heard your story. I don't feel anger towards you." As the words left my mouth, I realized they weren't entirely true. I am angry at her. She hurt me, which in turn, hurt Jacob.

Jacob shook his head. "I'm angry at you. You attacked the love of my life, because you can't handle your emotions. You almost _killed_ him!" As Jacob said the word 'killed', Leah looked away, disgusted with herself. He continued. "I can never forgive you for that. I… I would've killed you if they didn't stop me."

I watched as Leah started to get angry. Slowly, spasms started going through her arms.

Jacob stepped, protectively, in front of me. "I think it's time for you to leave Leah."

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Alright. I'll go. But I really am sorry. I can see I screwed up. I just hope you guys can forgive me someday." Leah took off running towards the woods.

Jacob turned back to me. He looked me in the eye. "Terry?" He grabbed my shoulders. "Hey, are you ok?"

I shook my head quickly, shaking out of my thoughts.

"Your hand…" He pointed at my right hand.

I was gripping my cane so hard, my fingers had turned completely white.

"And you look really pale… Maybe we should go lay down." He didn't ask, he just lifted me off the ground and carried me into the house.

He laid me down on the bed and crawled in next to me. I pulled myself on top of him and buried my face into his chest. I started crying. "J-Jacob…"

He just rubbed the back of my head.

-A/N-

So, what're we thinking so far? I don't want to spoil anything… But this story is going to be interesting. I promise you.

I'm not much for these author's notes am I…? Well maybe I'll just save them for important chapters…


	3. Losing

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

3. LOSING

A few days past and things didn't get any better.

If anything they got worse. Talking to Leah really didn't help. Seeing her get angry again made the images of her attacking start appearing during the day.

Jacob didn't want to leave me alone. He skipped school those past days. He would just hold me in his arms, rocking me gently, trying to soothe me whenever those images flashed through my mind.

I started to feel bad. I didn't want Jacob to skip school. I didn't want him to be miserable because of me. I could see he was miserable though. I felt like I was being a burden.

I made Jacob go to school. I told him I was feeling better and that I could handle being alone. Lie. That's what I had to do. I had to lie to make Jacob feel better.

It didn't last for very long.

Jacob came home from school early. Billy must've called the school. I started crying hysterically, screaming in pain, for no reason at all.

I felt like I was being torn apart. But I wasn't. Jacob had run home from school and came bursting through the door. He scooped me up in his arms and held me tightly to him. "It's all gonna be ok…"

Things weren't ok. I knew that. Jacob knew that. Jacob kept trying to ask me what I needed, and if I was ok, and how he could help. I wanted him to help. But I couldn't put what I needed into words.

I told him that. That's when Jacob had the idea to call Edward. If I couldn't vocalize what I needed, Edward could just read my thoughts about it. That was Jacob's plan.

It sounded like a good one to me.

Jacob and I waited for Edward to come over. After a few minutes of waiting Jacob looked me in the eyes, I saw sadness. "Terry… You know I love you, right?"

_Where is this coming from? _I was shocked he'd even ask. "Of course I know that."

"And you know you can tell me anything?" _Was he about to cry?_

I knew I could tell him anything. It's just I didn't know how to tell him. I nodded.

"I love you Terry. Forever and always." He kissed me. His lips pressed to mine tenderly, it seemed like he was almost afraid to hurt me.

"I love you too. You know _that_, right?" I smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

A smile played at the corner of his lips. "I know." His face became almost sad again. He looked in my eyes as if he was expecting me to say something. But I had nothing to say.

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in." Jacob looked up as Edward walked into his room.

Edward looked briefly around the room, no doubt noting the lack of space. His probing eyes met mine and a strange emotion flicked across his face, if only for a second. "Hello Jacob, Terry."

Jacob explained to Edward what he thought might get some answers from me. I wasn't even sure what he was looking for from me, I didn't think he knew either. He was just desperately looking for someway to make me better again.

Edward sat on the edge of the bed and looked at me. "Alright Terry. Jacob thinks that we should revisit the day in the clearing."

_What? Why? _Before I could vocalize my complaints, Edward's reminder of the clearing sent shivers down my spine as images of that day flooded my mind.

Edward's face looked bewildered. "Jacob? Can I have a moment alone with Terry please?"

Jacob looked at me.

"I can handle it." I tried my best to sound convincing.

Jacob shook his head. As he left the room I thought I heard him say, "That's what you said earlier…"

Once the door closed, Edward's attention returned to me. "Terry, can you tell me what you thought of that day?" He looked cautious as he said the next words. "When you were attacked?"

More pictures flooded my mind at his words. This time it was pictures and sounds and smells and feelings. Images of razor sharp teeth and claws, Leah's horrid snarling, the strong smell of blood, and fear.

I thought about the last one. _Fear…_ I wasn't so much afraid of dying as I was of losing Jacob. Of losing my love.

"What are you thinking?" Edward asked even though he didn't need to, he already knew. He just wanted me to say it out loud.

"I love Jacob… I was afraid I was going to lose him…" I thought about how absurd that sounded.

Edward looked me in the eyes. "Terry, _you _were the one who was dying… Jacob wasn't going anywhere…"

I shook my head. "I wasn't afraid of losing _him_ so much as I was afraid of our relationship being destroyed…"

"You were dying and you were more worried about your relationship?" Edward sounded doubtful, but he knew that's what I was thinking.

I felt tears forming in my eyes. "I… love Jacob… I love the relationship I have with Jacob… I didn't want to lose that… I _don't _want to lose that…"

What Edward said next hurt me. He was so blunt and forward about it. "But you are."

-A/N-

Alright, tonight is the release of Eclipse in theatres. I am very excited.

Depending on how Taylor Lautner portrays Jacob in the movie, if he pulls the emotional strings I hope and know he will, I will have a renewed sense about how Jacob should act.

If you are going to see the movie, tell me what you think after you've seen it.


	4. Awakening

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

4. AWAKENING

What Edward said next hurt me. He was so blunt and forward about it. "But you are."

I couldn't say anything. I wanted to yell, to tell Edward off. To say that he had no idea of what he was talking about.

I wanted to, but I couldn't. In the corner of my mind, the thought that I was losing my relationship with Jacob, the thought that I was losing _Jacob_, was there. It had been there for a while. Slowly eating away at my mind, making me easily upset.

Indirectly causing the very thing it was.

I wanted to scream out for Jacob, to have him come and save me from these thoughts. But I knew that Edward was the only one who could save me. There was no way I'd be able to say the words 'I'm losing you' to Jacob. He would deny it.

But it was happening. And Edward knew it. He knew that I knew it.

I looked up at Edward with tears flowing from my eyes. I tried my hardest to fight them. "Edward… I love him…"I grabbed the dog tag I had hanging around my neck. The gift from Jacob that read: P.O. Jacob Black. "I belong to him… I'd do anything to save our relationship…"

He just looked at me. I was sure he was probing my thoughts as his facial expression changed. It went from concerned to completely shocked. "I can see that…"

"…What…? What did I think?" I wanted to know what fleeting thought he read.

Edward sighed. "I… shouldn't tell you. Because if you knew what it was now you wouldn't do it. I personally think it would work for you, in your situation. To save your relationship." He looked away, as if he was remembering something. Something painful from the look of it.

I _had_ to know now. It was something that could stop my relationship from crumbling. Whatever it was I'd do it. "Edward… please…"

He shook his head.

Anger flooded my veins. "What was it Edward? I need to know! Now!"

Just then Jacob burst through the door. "What happened? What's wrong?" His eyes were locked on mine.

"It was nothing Jacob. Terry just became angry with me. I was pushing him to hard, trying to get him to remember things about that day." Edward easily lied.

_Why won't he tell Jacob…? _I looked back into Jacob's eyes, and I saw for the first time in a very long time.

It's like a veil had been lifted. I saw what I had been doing to Jacob over the past few weeks. I was running him ragged. His beautiful eyes, that once held joy and happiness, only held pain and suffering. He was worrying about me so much. I felt the need to cry again.

Jacob must've seen that, he walked over to me and touched a hand to the side of my face. "What's wrong…?" His voice was so soft, so concerned.

For once I won the battle against the tears. I held them back. "I'm fine." How sure of myself I sounded surprised even me. "I just need to talk to Edward more."

I saw a glint of hope in Jacob's eyes. He felt as though talking with Edward was actually helping me. And since it was his idea, _he_ was helping me. "Alright. If you need me, I'm right outside."

He left the room again.

Edward's eyes were on mine again. "What are you willing to do to save your relationship?"

"Anything… I said it already and I'll say it again. I will do anything to save my relationship with Jacob. He is the most important person in my life. I love him more than life itself. I used to wake up every morning to his smiling face, knowing full well we were going to be happy together forever. Now I'm not so sure… But I will do anything to change that."

Edward stared deeply into my eyes for a long time. When he finally spoke, he had a grim tone. "When you make up your mind to do what you think is absolutely necessary, make sure you take into account every detail. I don't want to see you or Jacob upset anymore. It hurts Bella to know you two are upset."

I didn't like that he knew something that I thought, that I didn't know. I wasn't entirely sure how that even worked. He must've just caught a glimpse of a thought that passed through my mind at some point.

Edward thought it would work. Whatever the idea was, he thought it would save my relationship.

Edward smiled and stood up. "I should leave. Jacob really wants to hold you now."

I nodded, still thinking about what it could possibly be that I needed to do.

I was so lost in my thoughts I didn't even notice when Jacob's warm arms had pulled me close to him. "Terry…" I was surprised to hear the tone of Jacob's voice. It wasn't the careful, concerned tone it had been. It was instead, happy and light. He pressed his lips to mine briefly. "You look better… I don't know what Edward said, or what he did… but…" He didn't finish, he just kissed me again.

It was true. I felt better. I also felt worse though. For now no thoughts of Leah, or being attacked were anywhere near my mind. I had other things to worry about.

And for the first time in quite some time, I managed to sleep through the night. I laid on Jacob's chest listening hard to his heartbeat. When it lulled me to sleep, no nightmares.

No teeth, claws, snarling, anything.

I dreamt. I dreamt of being with Jacob forever…

-A/N-

So I saw Eclipse.

It was amazing. Taylor Lautner brought the emotion I was looking for. I am very pleased with his performance.

Anyone notice that he was naked? :3


	5. Renew

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

5. RENEW

I lifted my head. Sunlight had poured through the windows. It was a beautiful, sunny day in Washington. I was surprised at how sunny it could be. There had been so much rain, so much darkness over the past few weeks, seeing the sun again excited me.

"Good morning." I turned my head to see Jacob staring at me. His eyes met mine and there was a look I hadn't seen in such a long time. He wasn't worried or upset, he looked genuinely happy.

_Good morning…_ I thought about how true that statement was. There were no nightmares. I had slept through the night for the first time in a long time, and it felt great. I had dreamt of Jacob, of the love that was between us. It was a good morning. "Hi." I couldn't help but smile. I hadn't smiled in a long time. It felt good.

"So, how did you sleep?" He was exuberant. He knew how I slept. I actually slept.

"Wonderfully. I had a dream."

He propped himself up on his elbow, turning his body to mine. "What was it about?" The energy between us was different. It wasn't tense and heavy, filled with worry and sorrow. It was light and carefree.

"You." I sat up and pressed my lips to his. I loved the feeling of his lips on mine. He was so masculine and yet his lips were so soft, so sensual.

He pulled me on top of him. He spread his legs a little, letting me lay in between them. "Yeah? What about me?" He pulled my face to his, kissing me again. As his lips glided over my own, it elicited a physical response from both of us.

I sat up off of him. "Well you cooked me pancakes."

He stared at me for a moment before bursting into laughter. "Pancakes…"

I nodded, with a smile on my lips.

"Let's go, I'll make you some pancakes." He sat up, kissing me sweetly once more, and grabbed my hand, pulling me up off of the bed. He handed me my cane, and we walked towards the kitchen.

Billy was just finishing his own breakfast when Jacob and I had walked in, hand in hand. "Well what do we have here?"

I smiled sheepishly, and Jacob spoke. "He had a good night."

Billy smiled warmly. "I'm glad. Let me just get out of your way son, I don't want you to cover me with whatever it is your going to attempt to cook again."

"Ok, I get it. I make a mess." Jacob let out an exasperated sigh. I just laughed. "What are you laughing at?" He turned and picked me up, throwing me over his shoulder.

"Take it easy Jacob, you're gonna break the poor kid." Billy chuckled as he wheeled himself into the living room.

Jacob set me down gently at the table. I sat down and watched in amazement as Jacob made such a mess making simple pancakes. There was pancake mix everywhere, the floor, the counter, his face. And there was probably more batter on his body then in the bowl he was mixing.

I looked at his bare torso, still marveled at how muscular he really was. Lifting myself from my chair, I walked over to him and wiped off the batter from his chest. "Let me get that for you."

Jacob turned to me and looked into my eyes, with the most seductive face I had ever seen him with. I would've folded right there and let him have his way with me, except he looked so ridiculous with pancake mix all over his face. It was hard to contain my laughter. His expression changed, "What? What's so funny now?"

I raised my hand up and gently smacked his face, watching the pancake mix dust float off into the air.

"Ahh." He smiled and turned back to the pancakes.

After a few minutes, we had eaten and I helped him clean up his mess. He told me not to, but I said I really wanted to help and he just caved in and let me without so much as a fight. I asked why he wasn't going to school that day, to which he replied, "I'm not going to waste a good day of yours in school."

Jacob had suggested we go down to the beach, considering how sunny it was. I was willing to do anything, as long as it was with him. Just as we opened the door and stepped outside, I noticed Bella was getting out of her truck. "Oh good you guys are here. I have something for you."

She started to walk towards us, with something in her hand. It was some sort of package. When she got over to us, she held out the package. Jacob reached out and took it. "What is it?"

"Why don't you just open it?" Bella looked excited. Whatever was it was, she thought we'd enjoy it.

Jacob opened the package and took out its contents. I watched as his face lit up. His face was filled with love and adoration for whatever it was he was holding. He held it out for me to see.

It was a framed picture of Jacob and I from Bella and Edward's wedding. Jacob looked undeniably sexy in his tuxedo that did little to hide his muscular frame. His arm was on the small of my back, basically presenting me to the world. That was the night I had admitted my love for Jacob. That was the night Jacob and I became one.

Jacob tilted my head up and wiped a tear from my eye. His face held such passion. He leaned in and pressed his lips to mine, I parted my lips and let his tongue enter my mouth. It found its way to my own and he began gently caressing my tongue with his.

"I'm just going to assume you guys like it." I was by far to consumed with Jacob to pay attention to Bella, but he had broken the kiss, smiling warmly at me before turning back to face her.

"I love it. Thank you Bells." He looked back down at the picture, smiling.

"You're welcome." She turned to me. "I'm glad you're feeling better. Edward had told me you weren't handling the whole Leah thing too well."

I smiled. "Today… is a good day. Where is Edward anyway?"

"I'm gonna go put this in the house, I will be right back." Jacob ran inside.

Bella had pointed to the sky. "Sunny. It doesn't go to well with him being a vampire and all." She smiled. _That's right… He doesn't want to risk sparkling in the sunlight and having someone see him…_

"Alright Terry, I'm going to go. I've got more pictures to deliver. Edward said it would be more personal that way." She shrugged and walked to her truck.

Jacob had come back out of the house and waved at Bella as she drove off. He turned to me. "Ready to go?"

I nodded, smiling at him.

Jacob and I had walked down to the beach and he sat on an old log, pulling me onto his lap. He held me as we just looked out into the horizon.

I was glad I was feeling better today. Throughout the entire day, there were no thoughts of Leah or anything like that. I felt completely at ease.

Well, not completely. In the very back of my mind, I was still worried about saving our relationship. But after the wonderful day we spent together, how could our relationship be failing?


	6. Reflection

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

6. REFLECTION

Another night went by swimmingly. Well better than swimmingly, actually.

After Jacob and I stared out into the ocean for who knows how long, he suggested we go for a swim. I said we didn't have our swim trunks and he just laughed as he ripped off his shorts and ran into the water.

I should've known better than to say that. I took off my clothes and laid them on the log along with my cane. I started to hobble over to the ocean but Jacob came out and gently picked me up, walking us both into the water.

It may have been sunny that day, but the water was still cold. We only swam around for a few minutes before Jacob told me we should get out.

He carried me out of the water and we laid in the sand as the sun dried us. Once we were dry, we dressed and headed back to his house.

Jacob made dinner and we ate, smiling and talking the whole time. It felt good to be happy again. I was happy to be happy.

The night got even better. Before we fell asleep we began to kiss. And the kisses evolved into a much more physical activity. Seeing Jacob over me, his eyes locked on mine, was something that you had to experience to truly appreciate. It was Heaven on Earth.

Jacob and I were awoken by his alarm going off. He turned it off and laid back down, looking me in the eyes. He didn't want to leave me alone.

I was fine though. Another nightmare free night. I felt great. Jacob still didn't want to waste a good day of mine. I insisted he go. I didn't want him to miss more school because of me.

Besides, it would give me time to think. I was still worried about Edward's warning. _"I… love Jacob… I love the relationship I have with Jacob… I didn't want to lose that… I don't want to lose that…" What Edward said next hurt me. He was so blunt and forward about it. "But you are."_

I needed to know why exactly I was losing him. But I couldn't think in Jacob's house. Apparently Charlie came over to watch sports with Billy. They were hooting and hollering, it was hard to concentrate. I just wish there was somewhere I could go to get away from it all and just think.

And then it hit me. _"Its like a sanctuary. I can come here to think and try to work out problems without having to deal with any disturbances." His voice filled with a sense of tranquility. "I feel safe here. Like nothing could ever hurt or be hurt in here."_

_That's right! Our spot!_ I decided it would be a good idea to go to 'our spot' in the woods. Jacob and I had gone a lot so I'm pretty sure I knew how to get there.

I looked at the clock. I had roughly and hour and a half before Jacob came home. I didn't want him to come home and have no idea where I was.

I searched Jacob's room for pen and paper. Eventually I found a pad of paper and a pencil. _Dear Jake, I took a walk to our spot. I just need to clear my head, think about a few things. I'll be back soon. I love you, Terry._

I got dressed and grabbed my cane. As I was leaving Jacob's room, I noticed he had put the picture of us from the wedding on his nightstand. It made me smile.

I walked out of his room and into the hallway. Charlie was in the kitchen getting some beers from the fridge. "Oh hi Terry. How are you doing? I heard you got busted up pretty badly…"

"I'm still dancing." I smiled and heard Billy laugh from the other room. I walked over to the door.

"Where you off to?" Charlie seemed interested, but I just assumed he was trying to make small talk. He didn't seem very good at it.

I opened the door. "I'm gonna take a walk. I'll be back. Tell me who wins." I didn't really care about the sports game, but Charlie was showing interest in my life, so I figured I'd show dome interest in his.

"Alright, I'll see you later then." He walked into the living room.

I walked outside, still wondering why Charlie was so interested in what I was doing. _Probably just his police officer side, making sure I'm staying out of trouble._

Finding our spot took longer than I thought it would. The times Jacob and I had gone, he always ran as a wolf, with me on his back. It took like five minutes that way.

I was maybe an hour into stumbling around in the woods, when my leg started hurting. I forgot to take the vicodin with me. I had stopped walking and sat on a rock, rubbing my leg, ready to give up and just walk back, when in the silence of the woods, I heard the sound of the brook.

I stood back up and walked a few feet further and the trees gave way to our little spring. I was glad I had made it ok. With a triumphant smile on my face I collapsed to the ground. I was exhausted. My leg hurt. No time to worry about that though. I had other things to think about.

I started to think about my relationship. I was in a relationship with the best man on the planet. Jacob Black. He was kind, caring, funny, smart, sexy, all around amazing.

He loved me unconditionally. No matter what happened, he was always there with me. I loved that. I could always rest easy knowing Jacob was always going to be there.

Our relationship was great. We were together always, we did everything together. Ever since I realized just how much I was in love with him, we had both been incredibly happy. Everyone loved and supported us in our relationship.

Well almost everyone. Leah. She was the wrench in our relationship. Ever since she attacked me, Jacob had been worried. Constantly making sure I had everything I needed, and even things I didn't need. Yes, I had my thigh torn up. But I was fine.

Or so I thought. I began having terrible nightmares about Leah. Her vicious fangs and horrible snarling. I hadn't been able to sleep through the night, constantly waking up screaming. Jacob would be right there, trying to soothe me back to sleep.

I had been miserable with the leg pain and the nightmares, but Jacob was worse off. He thought everything that happened to me was his fault. He blamed himself every time I winced in pain. Every time I woke up in the middle of the night sweating. He was running himself ragged. I didn't know how much more he could take.

But then it all went away. The past two nights, I had made it through the night nightmare free. Jacob and I spent a wonderful day together. Our relationship didn't look like it was falling apart, it looked stronger than ever. With the love I felt for Jacob and the love I saw in his eyes, how could we be falling apart? _Maybe Edward was wrong…_

I heard the sound of a twig snapping, bringing me out of my silent reverie. I sat up and pulled myself to my feet. I looked around for the sound. I figured it was about time for Jacob to have gotten out of school. I wanted to see Jacob, that was the reassurance I needed.

As my eyes scanned the trees, something caught my eye. I inhaled sharply. A grey wolf walked out from behind the trees, eyes locked on mine, teeth barred, ready to strike.

_Leah… _She had come to finish the job.


	7. Relaspe

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

7. RELAPSE

I was going to die.

Jacob wasn't there to save me. There was no way I could fend off a werewolf by myself. I could've tried to scream for help, but I was in the middle of the woods. No one would hear me. Even if they did they wouldn't know how to get to me.

I felt tears forming in my eyes. I was going to die and Jacob wouldn't be there as I passed on. I was going to die alone, at the hands of this crazed werewolf.

My first instinct was to run. There was no way I'd be able to make it very far, but I wasn't just going to stand there and accept death.

I took a step to my left and Leah stepped to her right, staying directly in front of me.

Her eyes held bloodlust. She hadn't gotten better at all. I had assumed that she was going through with her therapy, I mean she came to visit Jacob and I and seemed normal then. It was apparently an act. To let Jacob trust that I'd be ok on my own.

I took a step backwards, and she took two steps forwards, she was beginning to close the distance.

I swallowed hard and blinked away the tears. When I opened my eyes, Leah was in the air, lunging at me. I tried to run backwards, but tripped and fell. She landed over me, her front paws on either side of me. Her teeth looked even more frightening up close. She snarled again and dug her teeth into my neck.

I was in such pain, her powerful jar squeezed down on my neck, crushing the life out of me. I was going to die.

I tried to call out to Jacob. All that left my mouth was a horrible gurgling sound.

When people die, their body goes cold. Even through the pain and fear of death I was going through, I was baffled as to why I felt heat wrapping around my arms.

I heard something then. It wasn't the sound of bones cracking, or gurgling. I couldn't make out what it was.

I heard it again. It was louder this time, and the sound of Leah tearing me to pieces became quieter.

A third time, and I understood what it was. "Terry!" It was Jacob.

I was no longer in pain. I heard no noise coming from Leah. It was all silent except for Jacob's voice.

"Terry! Look at me! Snap out of it, please! …I'm sorry for this…"

_Sorry for what…? _I felt a powerful sting on the entire left side of my face. I turned my head, squeezing my eyes shut in pain.

When I opened my eyes, Leah was no where to be seen.

I looked directly above me and it was Jacob. He was kneeling over me, his hands wrapped around my arms. His face was one of fear, and concern.

"Ja…cob…?" My voice was still there, I wasn't being torn apart.

He looked sad. "I'm sorry I slapped you…" He helped me to sit up. "What happened to you?"

"I… I…" I burst into tears, burying my head in his chest. "Leah… S-she attacked…"

Jacob rubbed my back. "No she didn't."

I pulled myself away from him. "W-what?"

"She's no where near here. I had just gotten home and saw your note, so I phased and ran over here. I poked my head out of the trees and saw you laying there. I walked out from behind the trees as you got up." _Jacob walked out from behind the trees…? _"When you looked at me you almost went into shock. I had no idea what was going on. You tried to run and fell over, then you just started screaming bloody murder. So I phased back and ran over to you." Jacob looked at me concerned.

"I… thought…" I started to cry harder.

Jacob reached out to hold me. I flinched away form his hands. "Get away from me!" I tried to run away, but again I fell to the ground. I rolled to my side and cradled my head in my hands. I was losing it. I didn't know if I could trust what I was seeing anymore. If what Jacob said was true, then even when he was a human trying to snap me out of it, I still saw and felt a wolf tearing me apart.

I didn't want to do that to Jacob. I knew he would never hurt me, but it's hard to know what's what when you're a prisoner of your own mind.

Jacob didn't move, he just let me cry. I was scared and I just didn't want to be there anymore. I wanted to be safe. Jacob called this place a sanctuary, it felt more like Hell to me.

After a few minutes of my crying hysterically, Jacob moved closer to me. He laid a hand on my side, and I flinched at his touch. I cried harder. I was afraid of Jacob touching me. He spoke softly. "Terry… I love you… You know that right…? I won't hurt you…"

His words calmed me enough to throw myself at him, holding him tightly. He wrapped his arms around me and tried to stop me from crying.

"It's going to be ok… I promise…" He started to sound like he was crying.

As he rocked me back and forth, my head started to clear. I hallucinated being attacked by Leah, when it was just Jacob walking over to me. My mind was starting to be afraid of Jacob. _My_ Jacob. The love of my life. I thought about what I was doing to him. He could obviously see I was flinching away from him, and I screamed for him to get away from me. Our relationship was being destroyed. Edward was right.

It hit me then. I knew what I had to do to save our relationship. The thought, alone, was enough to make me start crying again. But it had to be done. Anything to save our relationship.

I had to leave. I had to leave Washington, and leave Jacob behind. I needed to go somewhere and sort things out. I couldn't do it there. I couldn't do it with Jacob. He would hinder me, I needed to face my demons alone. Maybe see a therapist. I didn't know. But I did know I couldn't do it there.

"Jacob… I…" I tried to tell him what I needed to do, but nothing would come out.

He just shushed me and continued rocking back and forth. "Everything's gonna be ok…"

There was no way I could tell Jacob in person. I wouldn't be able to deal with him breaking down if I told him.

But I needed to leave, to save us.


	8. Trust

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

8. TRUST

I sat in the airport terminal, waiting for my flight that would take me away from Washington. Away from Leah. Away from my fears.

Away from Jacob.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Edward was sitting next to me, his face now riddled with concern.

"Edward, you told me that what I thought about that day would work. I need to do it. I need to save us." I was remarkably calm. I just needed to make it on the plane, then I could cry. If I cried before that, I wouldn't leave.

Edward shook his head. "I said it might work."

"Don't… don't tell me that…" That was the last thing I needed.

He continued anyway. "I left Bella. To give her a chance to be happy and healthy as a human. It was the worst decision I ever made." _This is not helping… _"I left her with a broken heart. She was miserable for months. But Jacob saved her from that. He picked her up and made her whole again. And she fell in love with him. I left her torn, and broken. When I came back, she always had the fear that I would leave her again. She was never the same."

"Why are you doing this…?" I laid my head in my hands.

"I just need to make sure you know what you're doing." He placed his icy hand on my shoulder.

"I need to try. I need to be better. For Jacob." I thought about Jacob, and what coming home to an empty house would do to him.

I didn't know how I was able to convince Jacob that I was well enough to stay home alone. Considering the melt down I had in our spot.

"_I'm not leaving you alone again." Jacob looked me dead in the eyes._

"_You need to trust me. I know what I'm doing." I turned away, not wanting to face him._

_He pulled me close to him. "I do trust you." We hugged for a while before he continued. "Fine, I'll go to school today. But if you need me for anything, and I mean anything, you call me ok?" He held me at arms reach, looking very concerned._

"_I promise."_

_Jacob got up and headed towards the door, ready to leave for school, none the wiser that I wouldn't be here when he got back._

"_Jake…" I reached out to him._

_He turned. "Yes?"_

_I got up and pulled his face to mine. Our lips crashing together for what would be our last kiss for a very long time. "I love you."_

"_I love you. Forever and always." He smiled and turned out the door. Leaving me to cry silently in his room._

Edward sat there quietly, watching how it all played out in my memories.

I looked up to him. "I wrote him a note, Edward. A note! That's how I told him I was leaving. I told the love of my life that I was going away for who knows how long, in a stupid note…"

_I grabbed a pencil and paper. I sat there for a long time thinking about what to say._

_Dear Jacob, I love you. Don't you ever forget that. I love you more than anything in the world. And that is why I need to do this. I'm leaving, Jacob. By the time you read this, I will be on a plane back to Phoenix. You have to understand that I'm doing this for us. I need to get some space, and think about what's wrong with me. I can't do it with you. I'm sorry but this is something I need to do alone. I promise you I will come back. I don't know when, but I will. I love you Jacob. I love you. Your love, from now until forever, Terry._

_Tears were spilling down my face and onto the paper as I wrote. I felt so bad that I was doing this to Jacob._

"Edward, how did you manage to get the ticket so fast?" I wanted to get away from my sadness, I needed to talk about something else.

"When you called me last night, I immediately called the airport and luckily there was an open seat on the only flight out of Washington to Phoenix."

"Edward do me a favor, please." I stared into his eyes. "Jacob was there for Bella when you left. Please, can you be there for Jacob?"

He nodded. "Of course."

That made me feel better. I looked at the clock on the wall. "Why does the flight have to be so close to when Jacob gets out of school…?"

"I'm sorry." Edward suddenly looked past me. His face told me whatever it was, wasn't good.

I turned around and there was Jacob walking over towards us. He looked emotionally distraught. I felt horrible.

"Terry…" He ran over to me and knelt next to me. His hand gently touched the side of my face. "What are you doing…?" Tears were welling up in his eyes.

A voice came over the intercom. "Flight 291 to Phoenix, Arizona is now boarding."

"Jacob, I need to go. It's for us… I… I'm scared here…" I couldn't stop the words, they kept pouring out. I wished I could control them. "I don't know what I can trust anymore. Who knows what I will hallucinate next? I can see what I'm doing to you, I can't stand it. You deserve better than someone who flinches away from you in fear…"

Jacob tried hard to fight the tears. "Terry, you are my life. You are the only reason for me to stay alive. I love you. I don't want you to go… I can fix it, I can make it all better…" He was losing the battle with the tears.

I swallowed hard and said what I needed to say. "No, you can't."

"Terry…"

"Look, Jacob. I love you, that's why I'm doing this. You need to trust me. I will come back to you. I will be better and we can truly be happy. You won't need to worry about me, if my leg hurts, if I can sleep through the night. We will be able to live. You need to believe in me, or this won't work. Please Jacob…" I wasn't going to cry. I needed to remain strong.

He held me close to him. "I love you… C-come home soon…"

"I will. I swear to you, I will. I love you. Forever and always, right?" I tried to smile at him, I didn't want our last meeting to be too saddening.

He nodded fervently. "Forever and always."

I let go of Jacob looked him in the eyes. "I _love _you." I turned and started to walk away. I couldn't look back. That would ruin both of our confidences in this matter. I just needed to go. I handed the attendant my ticket and walked through the gate.

I could feel the tears coming. They weren't going to be gentle. _Just a little further…_

I looked around for my seat and eventually found it. I had a window seat. I sat down and cradled my head in my hands, as I began to cry.


	9. Crushed

Welcome to Part 2 of Endless Night. I didn't label the first part of the story Part 1 because I didn't want you guys to guess what I had planned.

Here in Part 2 this is in Jacob's perspective. I repeat JACOB'S PERSPECTIVE. I really just don't want there to be any confusion about that.

This chapter takes place during Chapter 8.

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

9. CRUSHED

The school bell rang at twelve-thirty. We were being let out early. I was glad, I wanted to go home to Terry to make sure he was ok. _He told me to trust him and I do._

I had walked over to my motorcycle and got on. As I got ready to start it, I heard someone call my name.

"Hey Jacob!" Embry was running over to me.

"What's up?" I was hoping this wasn't going to be a lengthy conversation.

He shrugged. "Nothing. You and Terry wanna hang out with they boys today? We were gonna order some pizzas and hang out as Emily's."

_Would Terry be up for that? I mean, he freaked out and it was just me walking over to him. I don't know if he can handle the pack. _"I'd have to ask him."

"Alright. How's he doin' anyway?" Embry continued to talk to me.

"He's not doing too good. He started hallucinating again. I need to go see him." I started my bike.

"Oh ok… I hope he feels better."

I drove away. _Me too. Me too…_

I couldn't make it to my house fast enough. I was going over the speed limit by like forty mph. I tried to remain positive. _Terry's fine. He told me to trust him, he's gonna be ok today._

I finally got to the house. I parked my bike and walked inside. Dad was in the fridge getting a beer. "Hey dad. How was Terry today?"

"He was good. Edward came to pick him up maybe an hour ago." He opened his beer and took a long sip.

_Edward? Why…? _I walked past Dad, into my room. Terry was gone. I turned back around, ready to find where Edward took him, when something caught my eye. A piece of paper on my pillow.

I walked over to it and picked it up. There were a few dark spots on the page, like someone dripped water on it. I started to read it and I felt my heart break.

I read it through once and it didn't make sense. I shook my head and began reading it out loud. Hoping I could process it better. "'Dear Jacob, I love you. Don't you ever forget that. I love you more than anything in the world.'" I had a bad feeling about that letter. "'And that is why I need to do this. I'm leaving, Jacob.'" _He's leaving… _

My mind still didn't wrap around what I was reading. "'By the time you read this, I will be on a plane back to Phoenix. You have to understand that I'm doing this for us. I need to get some space, and think about what's wrong with me. I can't do it with you. I'm sorry but this is something I need to do alone. I promise you I will come back. I don't know when, but I will. I love you Jacob. I love you. Your love, from now until forever, Terry.'"

Tears began to fall from my eyes as what I had just read sank in. Terry was going to leave me. As that conclusion crossed my mind, a horrible wrenching pain shot through my chest. _I need to stop this…_

I took a few deep breaths and looked at the clock. _He didn't know I was getting out early, so when he wrote this letter, he thought it would be later. _"I still have time."

I ran out of my room, leaving the note on my bed. As I ran through the kitchen, Dad shouted, "Hey! Where are you going?"

I ignored him. I needed to focus. I had to stop Terry from leaving. I hopped on my motorcycle and sped towards the nearest airport. Thoughts of Terry leaving crept into my mind. _He's leaving me… He said he loved me…_

I just couldn't get to the airport fast enough.

When I eventually found the airport, I jumped off my bike. A heard a voice. "Hey, you can't leave this here!"

I didn't answer. _Take it, I don't need it if I lose Terry. _I walked in through the doors and noticed just how big this place was. _I'm never going to find him…_ I started looking around for some sign of where he might be. There was a woman wearing a uniform assisting other people, I figured she was my best bet. "Excuse me, where is the flight to Phoenix boarding?"

"Let me check…" She started typing painfully slow on her computer.

_Come on, come on, come on!_

"Ahh, Flight 291 to Phoenix, Arizona. That's at terminal seven. Just go down there it'll be on your right." She pointed the direction and I took off running.

After a few suspicious eyes looked at me, I realized that I should walk instead. I didn't need to get time taken up by being questioned by security or anything. I settled for power walking. "Five, six, seven! There!"

I found terminal seven. I looked around. I couldn't see Terry anywhere, but then my eyes met familiar gold ones. _Edward._ In front of Edward, sat Terry.

I was battling with conflicting emotions. I was happy because I found Terry, and miserable because he was leaving me. He turned around, and his face dropped.

"Terry…" I ran over to him and knelt in front of him. I tried to fight the tears as I touched the side of his face with my hand. I didn't want him to leave. _I won't never be able to touch you like this again. _"What are you doing…?"

A voice came over the intercom. "Flight 291 to Phoenix, Arizona is now boarding." _No! No! No!_

"Jacob, I need to go. It's for us… I… I'm scared here…" _What…? _"I don't know what I can trust anymore. Who knows what I will hallucinate next? I can see what I'm doing to you, I can't stand it. You deserve better than someone who flinches away from you in fear…" _That's not at all true…_

"Terry, you are my life. You are the only reason for me to stay alive. I love you. I don't want you to go… I can fix it, I can make it all better…" I was losing control over the tears. _I don't want you to be scared… Please…_

"No, you can't."

"Terry…" The pain in my chest became more prominent. I just wanted to roll over and die.

"Look, Jacob. I love you, that's why I'm doing this. You need to trust me. I will come back to you. I will be better and we can truly be happy. You won't need to worry about me, if my leg hurts, if I can sleep through the night. We will be able to live. You need to believe in me, or this won't work. Please Jacob…" I could see in his eyes he needed to do this. He needed to leave to get better. I was restricting him from being happy.

More conflicting emotions. I wanted him to leave, so he can be truly happy. But I wanted him to stay, I loved having him around. We had so much fun together.

I decided he should go. I was going to let him go. The thought of it sent pain through my body. I held him close to me. "I love you… C-come home soon…"

"I will. I swear to you, I will. I love you. Forever and always, right?" He smiled at me.

'_Forever and always' _I wanted it to be true so badly. I nodded. "Forever and always."

He let go of me and I felt my body starting to crumble. "I _love _you." He turned away and I fell to my knees. He didn't look back. I watched him walk away from me, without looking over his shoulder, without any sign that it was hard for him to do. He walked through the gate and out of my sight.

I stood up and went to go chase after him. Cold hands restricted me. "Jacob, no. He needs to do this. And he needs you to believe in him."

_Terry… _I fell to my knees again, cradling my head in my hands. "Terry…"

"He loves you. That's why he's doing this."

I started to cry hysterically. I was in the middle of the airport, sobbing like a child. I didn't care, my life was being taken from me.

Edward's cold hands wrapped around me, lifting me to my feet. "Let me take you home."

"Edward… I…" I covered my face with a my hand.

"I know, Jacob. I know…"


	10. Pain

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

10. PAIN

People say 'you don't really know what you got 'till it's gone'.

I disagree.

I knew what I had. I had the best person in the world, as my lover. Nothing changed when he left me. I didn't take him for granted. I knew what I had before he left, there was no change in the level of 'knowingness'.

The only thing that changed was that I became miserable.

It had been four hours since Edward took me home from the airport. I laid in my bed on my side, clutching my chest. It felt like I was being torn apart.

It reminded me of how Bella was after Edward had left her. Whenever someone so much as mentioned his name, she would wince and stop talking.

I missed Terry so much. It had been four hours, and I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't take anymore the second Terry turned away from me.

My room didn't seem like my room anymore. Nothing looked familiar. It was like I was in a haze, nothing made sense.

No matter the pain I was in, I would never tell Terry about it when he came back. I didn't want him to know that I suffered so much, it would make him feel horrible about leaving.

He needed to leave. Well, that's what everyone kept telling me anyway. And by everyone I mean Edward.

On the car ride to my house, Edward kept reassuring me that Terry still loved me, and that he was only leaving because he needed to. I wanted to believe it. But I was in so much emotional and physical pain it was hard to.

I laid there in the silence of my room, trying to will time to go by faster, to make the undetermined amount of time Terry would be gone, to go by faster. Instead of time passing at an increased interval, I got a knock at the door.

I didn't want to see anyone, so I didn't answer.

About thirty seconds passed before another knock, followed by the door opening without me giving the 'ok'.

"Hey Jake." It was Seth. I could tell by the sound of his voice. The words he said didn't register, it was like he was speaking another language.

I didn't respond.

"I came by to see if you guys were coming to… wait… Where is Terry?" The name I understood. The name registered. The name tore through me like a tornado through a building.

I tried to stifle a cry of pain.

"Jake? Are you ok?" Seth sat on my bed, obviously concerned. "What's wrong?"

I started to cry silently. Tears were streaming down my face, there was no sobbing.

Seth just sat there in silence. I was glad. I didn't want him to try to sooth me. "What's this?"

I had no idea what he was referring to, but I didn't ask. I didn't care.

"'Dear Jacob…'" _Oh no… I don't want to hear this…_ Luckily, Seth didn't read the rest of the note out loud. I couldn't stand to hear the words printed on the page. He read in silence until he abruptly shouted, "Wait… Terry left you?"

Hearing those words sent me from silent tears, to full on sobbing. I knew Terry had left me, but to actually have someone say it… That was something else entirely. It was recognition from someone else that it actually happened. That I wasn't just making it up out of some strange delusion.

"Jake… I… don't know what to say…" He rested a hand on my shoulder.

I wanted to be alone, but I couldn't find my voice to ask Seth to leave.

"…Why? Why did he… leave?"

The answer to that question came to my mind very quickly. I just wanted to yell. _Because of your stupid bitch of a sister! It's her damn fault Terry got hurt, her fault he couldn't sleep through the night, and her fault he hallucinated! It's her fault he left, damn it!_ I couldn't do that to Seth. As much as all of that was true, I didn't want to hurt Seth.

"It's Leah's fault, isn't it…?" It was almost as if he heard my thoughts. "I'm so sorry Jake…"

I said nothing. I just continued to weep.

"I can see you want to be alone. I'll leave." He stood up. "Look, if you need anything, you let me know ok? Any of us. The pack is here for you man." I heard the door close as he left.

As much as the pack was there for me, they had no idea what I was going through. None of them ever had their imprint leave them.

I felt like I was dying. No, I would've accepted death over what I was feeling. _Terry… Come home…_


	11. Silence

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

11. SILENCE

A month had past since Terry left. One month.

I hadn't spoken to anyone. I had nothing to say. I was still going to school, albeit I wasn't getting much done.

Everyone kept asking me 'are you ok?' and 'how are you feeling?'.

How do you think I'm feeling? My imprint was no where near me. I couldn't hold him. I couldn't kiss him. I couldn't sleep with him. I couldn't even look at him.

I found myself holding the picture of Terry and myself from Bella's wedding a lot. That was as close to him as I could get.

Sleep didn't come to me anymore. As if my life didn't suck enough, the escape of sleep was taken from me as well. I nodded off every now and then, but I could never stay sleeping.

My bed was empty. I missed having Terry sleeping on me.

I didn't eat much either. Food had lost it's appeal. I only ate what was necessary to survive. But even then it was hard.

It was hard to survive with out him.

I sat there staring at the picture. Tracing his face with my fingers. What I wouldn't give to touch him again.

I had stopped crying. I had cried for a month straight. I had nothing left.

I realized that crying wasn't going to bring Terry home. Nothing was. Nothing besides Terry deciding to come back himself.

We had been through so much together. I thought we could get through his problems from Leah together, but I was wrong. He needed to do it by himself.

I wondered if he thought about me at all. I wished he did. I wanted to know that I wasn't the only one suffering. I knew it sounded bad, but I needed reassurance that he loved me.

I was so far gone into my thoughts I didn't hear the door open.

"Hi Jake…" It was Bella. She and Edward decided to drop by.

Edward had been over a lot. Constantly checking up on me. I didn't know why. He would come over with something different to do every time. First it was to have dinner with him, just two guys. Then it was to see a movie. I didn't want to do anything. I just sat there in silence until he left.

It was Bella's first time visiting me though. I was glad she hadn't come to see me. I didn't want her pity.

"How are you holding up?" She hugged me to her. I didn't resist. I found if you just went along with it, they would leave you alone quicker.

I still didn't answer her.

"I understand. Better than anyone else does." She turned to Edward and said, "You probably don't want to hear this…"

He held up his hands. "Please, go on."

"Alright. Jacob, when Edward left me," I saw Edward cringe out of the corner of my eye. "he left me alone and broken. I felt completely isolated from the entire world. No one knew what I was feeling. To have your heart ripped from you, it's something I would never wish on anyone."

She knew what she was talking about. It was the worst pain in the world. Emotional and physical.

She continued. "Do you remember who helped fix me?"

Of course I did. It was me. When Edward left her, I was the one to pick up the pieces.

"You did, Jake. You. That's why I'm here today. I'm here to help fix you like you did for me." She stood up. "Come on, you need to leave your house. You and Terry spent all of your time in here, it holds too many memories."

I didn't move, I just stared at the floor.

"Come on." She grabbed my arm and tried to pull me to my feet. "Let's go."

I shook my head.

"I'm not taking no for an answer." She pulled harder.

"Bella, no." I spoke for the first time in a month.

She looked happy. "Well look at that, it talks. Now let's go!"

"I'm not going anywhere! Leave me alone!" I felt my anger rising.

"Bella, let him go." Edward sounded cautious.

She tried even harder to lift me up. "No, he's going to get up and he's going to get better. Now Jacob, get off you're sorry butt and let's go!"

"NO!" My anger snapped. I stood up and backhanded her across the room.

Before her body hit the floor and before I even knew what had happened, my body was slammed into the wall behind me. A cold hand was gripping my throat, pinning me to the wall a good foot off of the ground. "Don't you touch her again, or so help me I _will_ kill you."

In a mix of blind rage and stupidity, I spat in Edward's face.

The next thing I knew, I had been knocked across the room, slamming into another wall. I rubbed the side of my face. I had been punched.

I stood up and could feel the heat trembling down my spine, I started to shake with anger. Edward crouched, ready to attack. Bella ran in between the two of us, placing a hand on Edward and my chest. "No don't! Stop fighting please!"

I tore my eyes away form Edward and looked at Bella. The entire side of her face was bruised and swollen. Agony washed over me. _What have I done…?_

I hadn't stopped shaking, but I had started crying. Again. I was losing my mind. "Bella…" I shook my head, my eyes filled with tears.

"Jake…"

I ran from the house. The heat had intensified in my body, the spasms becoming too much to control. I had to get out of there before I changed and hurt Bella worse. Just as I stepped out the door, my body ripped apart as I exploded into a wolf.

I inhaled deeply and howled as loud as I could. I didn't want a pack meeting, I just needed to let loose some of the pent up feelings I had.

I howled for as long as my body would let me, before I took off running into the woods.


	12. Friend

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

12. FRIEND

My paws carried me away. Away from my house. Away from the painful memories. I was just running through the trees, but my mind was racing. _I can't believe I hit Bella… What's going on with me? Violence isn't a result of depression. I wish Terry was here, he'd help me through this…_

_Maybe I can help. _It was Seth.

_Seth leave me alone. I'm not in the mood._

_I can see that. You hit Bella? Is she ok? _He was persistent.

_I don't even know. I ran away as soon as I realized what I did. _I stopped running then. I had reached a destination that I did not plan on going to. I thought I was being led subconsciously away from all the pain.

Apparently not. I was being brought back to the epicenter of it all. The babbling brook in the background was at complete odds with the surge of painful memories flooding my mind.

I looked around and saw the spot in the grass where Terry had scrambled around trying to get away from me. The mental image was almost as bad as it actually happening. The entire scenario played out in front of me.

I collapsed to the ground in pain. I just wanted it to go away.

_Jake… Are you ok?_

_God damn it Seth! Why does everyone continue to ask me that? Does it look like I'm ok? _I hated yelling at Seth but I was fed up with everything.

Seth didn't respond. At all.

I lay there in silence, trapped by torturous memories. _Why did I come here…?_

"To heal." Edward walked out from behind the trees. "There's an old saying, 'to heal, we must first bleed'."

_Why are you here? Why do you keep checking up on me? Is it you feel you owe me something? I was the one constantly trying to take Bella away from you, I even just HIT her! Why are you trying to help me? I don't deserve your help! I couldn't even help Terry when he needed it most…_

"I'm here because I promised Terry I would be." He sat down next to me.

_What?_

"Before Terry left he asked me to do him a favor. He said, 'Jacob was there for Bella when you left. Please, can you be there for Jacob?'. It made me realize that this could be my way of showing you that I care about you. We are friends, right?"

_I guess…_

He smiled. "Now Jacob, I need you to come with me."

_Why? I don't want to move._

"If I'm going to be able to help you to the best of my ability, I need to actually feel what you're feeling."

It made no sense to me. _You're going to get Bella to leave you?_

Edward shook his head, laughing. "No, no. We're going to see my family. Jasper can control people's feelings, you know that, correct?"

I nodded. _But I don't want him to manipulate how I feel. I don't want to feel better because of his voodoo magic._

He laughed again. "That's not what I meant. Jasper can control people's feelings, but he also feels every emotion the people around him have. So he will be able to know exactly how you're feeling.

_And then project the exact emotion on to you?_

He nodded.

_I don't want that. I don't want anyone to feel the way I feel, this is a miserable experience that I wouldn't want anyone else to feel._ I wasn't that heartless.

"Trust me. It'll be fine. Besides, I made a promise to Terry and I intend to keep it." He stood up and looked at me. "What do you say?"

I felt compelled to trust Edward. It seemed like he genuinely wanted to help me. Maybe it was the fact that he wasn't demanding I go with him that made me stand up after him. He was giving me the choice to come or not.

Edward started to run towards his house and I followed him. For a brief moment I felt better. Not happy, by no means was I happy, but everything felt a little lighter.

_Edward?_

"Yes?"

_Thank you._

He laughed. "No problem. That's what friends are for, right?"

_Right. _I was really beginning to like Edward. If his idea to feel what I feel worked and he wanted to help me feel better the way I did for Bella, maybe we would become really good friends.

Don't get me wrong, the pack was always there for me, but they didn't know what I was dealing with. And if Edward could actually pull his plan off, maybe he could help me.

After all, misery loves company.


	13. Guest

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

13. GUEST

When Edward and I arrived at his house, he walked inside and came back out with Jasper. As soon as Jasper stepped outside, his facial expression changed to a pained one. He cradled his head in his hands and sat down.

"Jasper?" Edward sounded concerned.

After a few moments Jasper looked up, staring me directly in my eyes. "How can you live with this feeling?"

The words struck me deeply. _It's not without difficulty…_

"He said 'it's difficult'." Edward translated for me.

_That's not what I said…_

Edward shot me a look.

"I can see that… Edward, you honestly want me to project this emotion on to you? I don't think this is a very good idea…" Jasper confirmed what I had suspected. What I was living through wasn't for most people. I didn't even know how _I _was living through it.

"You have to trust me. I can handle it. I need to, I promised." Edward was very adamant about the whole thing. I really hoped he knew what he was getting in to.

Jasper shook his head. "If you say so."

Over the course of a few seconds, I saw Edward's face go from normally composed to slightly discomforted, to absolutely miserable. He exhaled slowly, closing his eyes. I couldn't stand to look at the pain I was responsible for. I turned away as Edward stifled a moan. "Jacob, I'm so sorry… I had no idea it was this bad…"

_I told you… Why didn't you listen…?_

"That's enough Jasper." Edward walked over to me and turned my head to face him. "I'm here to help you. Alright?"

_Yeah. _It was nice to have someone so determined to help me. Even though I did nothing to deserve it.

"Is it that bad because of the imprinting?" Jasper was still sitting on the porch.

I nodded.

"Wow… I guess I underestimated how serious that really is. I feel for you Jacob, I really do." He smiled meekly at me and walked back inside.

Edward turned to face me again. "Do you want to come inside? I'm sure Esme would make you something to eat if you wanted anything. It might be a good idea to spend some time somewhere else, away from your house and it's memories."

_I don't have any clothes. I phased as soon as I left the house, my clothes are in pieces by the front door._

Edward laughed. "Let me find you something." He was in and out of the house in a flash. He was holding a robe. "It may be a little small, but it's better than nothing." He threw it over my shoulders. "I'll be inside, come on in when you're done." He smiled and walked inside.

I inhaled deeply and pulled myself together. I stayed on the ground as I phased, that way the robe would still be over my shoulders when I was a human again. I stood up and tied the robe around me. Edward was right, it was small. It only went down to about my knees and the arms were halfway down my forearms.

As I stepped inside, I was greeted warmly by Esme and Carlisle. Esme hugged me close to her and I had to hug back. I felt compelled to hug her back, she was so motherly. "Oh Jake, I heard all about what happened… I'm so sorry…"

I smiled halfheartedly. "Thanks."

"Yes, we all are deeply saddened by your recent turn of events. Please, if there's anything we can do to help you, let us know." Carlisle was ever the father figure, looking out for his 'kids' friends.

I nodded. "If I can think of anything I'll let you know."

"Now Jacob, you must be hungry. You wolves are always hungry. I remember the get together we all had after the battle with Victoria. You guys ate so much. It was a nice change of pace for me, I always enjoyed cooking." Esme smiled warmly.

I knew she meant no harm in her words, but they seemed kind of thick with implications. I felt pressured to say 'yes'. How could I deny her cooking since she didn't get to do it often, and she said she loved to do it? "I am kinda hungry."

Edward laughed to himself.

"Let me go whip up something for you." Esme smiled again and left to the kitchen.

"Umm, Carlisle?" I thought of something they could do for me. It was going to be hard, but I felt it was necessary.

"Yes?"

"There is actually something you could do for me, if you don't mind." I didn't want to impose.

He smiled. "Not at all. What do you have in mind?"

I saw Edward nod slightly in understanding. He must've read my thoughts as to what I wanted. "I uhh… I don't want to go back home. Everything there reminds me of Terry and… It hurts to even think about it…" I felt tears forming in my eyes. _Haven't I cried enough…?_

"You can stay here, if you'd like. We'd be more than happy to have you stay with us." Carlisle placed a hand on my shoulder. "I know it must be hard."

"I can really stay here?" I had already knew they would say I could, the Cullens were all very welcoming people. It was just nice to have them say it.

"Of course. In the backyard, there is a guest house. It has a bedroom, a bathroom, and a living room and a kitchen. Everything you'll need is in there." He laughed. "We don't get much use out of it, given our lack of mortal friends."

I sighed in relief. It was such a nice emotion to have after living in misery for so long. "That… wow… That sounds fantastic. Thank you."

He patted me on the back. "It's our pleasure."

Edward stepped forwards. "I'll take you home to get some of your stuff, if you want."

I nodded. "That'd be great. But I should probably eat first, I wouldn't want to upset Esme."

Edward and Carlisle laughed.


	14. Memories

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

14. MEMORIES

The car ride to my house was pretty quiet. Neither of us said anything.

I had eaten my first big meal in a long time. Esme had made several sandwiches, each with different meats inside. They were all made on the most fantastic tasting bread. She also had a large batch of French Fries. I was pretty sure they were handmade and they were probably the best tasting things I had ever eaten. I had forgotten how good food tasted. Esme seemed very happy that I ate all of it.

I was feeling good for the first time in a long time. But that came to an end when we pulled up to my house.

Edward must've noticed I wasn't entirely thrilled about going in there. "You know you don't have to go inside if you don't want to. I'm sure Alice would be more than willing to take you shopping for new clothes, and anything else you needed." He smiled.

"No thanks. That sounds pretty boring…" I hated shopping, especially with women.

He laughed. "Shopping with Alice is anything but boring. But she's so determined to give you the best 'look'. It can get pretty rough…"

We sat in silence for a few minutes. I was mentally preparing myself to go into my own home. I realized how pathetic that sounded. "Alright, I'll be right back."

Edward nodded as I got out of the car. I walked over to the door and opened it. When I stepped inside, I realized how lucky I was. Dad was over Charlie's house, so I didn't need to explain to him how I was leaving in person. I didn't think I could do that to him.

I got to my room and took a breath. I opened the door and walked inside. I wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible. Like a bandaid. I walked over to my dresser and took out a pair of shorts. I put them on and threw the robe on the floor.

I walked over and grabbed my backpack and headed to the bathroom. I grabbed my toothbrush and threw it in the bag. When I got back to my room, I could feel the memories coming back. First it was the memory of when Terry had stepped out of the shower when I was in the bathroom with him. I smiled at the memory but I felt my eyes get wet.

I looked around the room, trying to find things I needed. I grabbed a few clothes from my dresser and my school stuff and threw them in the bag. I noticed the dent in the wall where Edward had slammed me into it. That made me remember hitting Bella. I had somehow nearly forgotten about it. I felt terrible.

I looked at my bed, it was never made. Ever. I smiled at that. I figured since I was leaving I should make it for the first time. As I pulled the blankets up to the pillows the memory of Terry's first night staying with me got to me. He barely even knew me, but wanted to sleep in my bed with me.

We were made for each other. That's what the imprinting is about. He felt drawn to me, but was somehow able to ignore that when he left. I took a minute to lie down on my bed, which I shouldn't have done. Images of every morning I had ever woken up with Terry laying on me made me cry. I cried hysterically.

Morning never seemed to come for me anymore. I was lost in an endless night, to only have morning come when I wake up next to Terry.

Everything about this place, everything I did, reminded me of Terry. I sat up, frustrated with myself for crying like this. I always handled things by myself, but I needed Terry so badly. I wanted him to wipe away my tears and tell me it was going to be ok.

I angrily wiped the tears away and my eyes settled on the clothes Terry always wore to bed with me. I slowly reached out for them, almost afraid that if I went too fast, they would disappear. When I picked them up they were cold. I had for some reason expected them to be warm, I wanted to feel Terry's body heat.

I brought the clothes to my face and inhaled deeply. Tears poured from my eyes as I inhaled his scent that still lingered on the clothes. I looked at the clothes, trying to imagine Terry standing right there with me. It was no use. I held them close to me and I wept.

After a few minutes, Edward appeared in the doorway. "Is… everything ok?"

I looked up at him. I wanted to speak but I was afraid I'd just break down and cry harder. I just shook my head.

He sat down next to me, rubbing my back as I cried. "You're going to be ok. Come on, we should go…" Edward really was trying to comfort me. My once mortal enemy was now soothing me as I cried like a baby.

I nodded and stood up, putting Terry's pajamas in my bag. I put on my backpack and headed for the door.

"Wait. You should bring this too."

I turned around to see Edward holding the picture of me and Terry from the wedding. I grabbed it and looked at Terry. The smile on his face made me smile weakly. "I miss him, Edward…"

"I know you do, Jake. I know you do…"

We walked into the kitchen and I realized what I had to do. "Uhh… can you take this to the car for me?" I asked, handing Edward my bag. "I need to do one more thing."

Edward nodded knowingly, and headed to the car.

I grabbed a pen and paper and wrote a note to my dad.

_Dear Dad, I'm sorry but I need to get out of here. This house holds too many memories of my time with Terry. If I ever want to feel better about Terry leaving, I need to leave as well. The Cullens were nice enough to let me stay with them. I need to do this Dad. I hope you understand. Love, Jacob._

I looked at the paper. I was doing the same thing to my dad as Terry did to me. Saying goodbye in a note. I remembered how miserable it made me to read Terry's note, but I realized that saying goodbye was really difficult.

I hung the note on the fridge, and walked out of the house.

I sat in the car and leaned my head back against the headrest, taking a deep breath. Edward looked at me. "It's for the best, Jacob. You know that."

"I know. But that doesn't mean it isn't hard to leave." I looked over at Edward who looked back at me, expecting me to understand his expression. I had no idea what he was trying to get across. "What?"

He shook his head. "Never mind." He held out his hand. "I found this outside your house."

I took what he was holding and immediately looked down at me chest. It was my 'P.O. Terry Prokop' dog tag. I had it on when I phased, so the chain must've snapped.

"We should have replacement chains at the house."

"Thanks. I don't know what I would've done if I lost this." I put it in my pocket.

When we got to his house and he showed me around the guest house. I had to admit, it was really nice. Everything looked freshly cleaned and the fridge and cabinets were stocked with food. Apparently they had gone shopping for me while Edward and I were out.

I unpacked my things and laid Terry's pajamas on one half of the king sized bed. I placed the picture of us on the nightstand, as well as my dog tag and smiled as tears formed in my eyes for the millionth time.

"Here." I turned to see Edward standing behind me, holding a cell phone. "You can call Terry."

"What…?" I was taken off guard.

"Before Terry left, I put a cell phone in his bag. Along with a copy of that picture." He pointed to the picture I had just put on the nightstand. "Anyway, the cell phone I put in his bag, isn't for making calls. It only receives calls from this phone." He tossed it at me. "The number is in there. You can call him whenever you want, just be sure to leave him time to get better."

I looked at the phone and started to get a little angry. "Why didn't you give this to me earlier? You had an entire month of me being miserable, and you choose now to give me this?"

"I figured you'd react like that. Jacob, listen. If I had given this to you any earlier, Terry probably would have come back out of sheer guilt for how he was making you feel. He wouldn't be any better. Things between you two would just get worse. I waited this long because I feel that you can handle calling him now without breaking down and begging him to come back to you. You know that he needed to leave. You know it was for the best. It may not feel like it now, but it is. Look at it this way. Absence diminishes mediocre passions and increases great ones, as the wind extinguishes candles and fans fires." His words rang true.

I didn't feel the need to beg him to come home. I missed Terry like Hell, but we were so far into it, if we turned back things might get even worse. Edward was right. I could handle calling Terry. And I do feel much more love for Terry than I thought possible. Edward really knew his stuff. "Thank you. I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"I understand how you feel. Believe me." He smiled. "Just remember, he needs to heal, just like you. It just takes time."

I nodded as Edward left me alone in my new room.

-A/N-

This chapter was inspired by:

When You're Gone by Avril Lavigne

_I always needed time on my own. I never thought I'd need you there when I cry. And the days feel like years when I'm alone. And the bed where you lie is made up on your side._

_When you walk away I count the steps that you take. Do you see how much I need you right now?_

_When you're gone, the pieces of my heart are missing you. When you're gone, the face I came to know is missing too. When you're gone, the words I need to hear to always get me through the day and make it ok. I miss you._

_I've never felt this way before, everything that I do reminds me of you. And the clothes you left, they lie on the floor, and they smell just like you, I love the things that you do._

_When you walk away I count the steps that you take. Do you see how much I need you right now?_

_When you're gone, the pieces of my heart are missing you. When you're gone, the face I came to know is missing too. When you're gone, the words I need to hear to always get me through the day and make it ok. I miss you._

_We were made for each other, out here forever. I know we were, yeah. All I ever wanted was for you to know, everything I'd do, I'd give my heart and soul. I can hardly breathe I need to feel you here with me, yeah._

_When you're gone, the pieces of my heart are missing you. When you're gone, the face I came to know is missing too. When you're gone, the words I need to hear to always get me through the day and make it ok. I miss you._


	15. Loneliness

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

15. LONELINESS

I sat up, covered in sweat. I looked over at the clock. '1:13 am'. _I can't do this anymore…_

Earlier that day, I had decided not to call Terry until the next day. I had an emotionally draining day and I didn't want to burden Terry at all. So I tried to sleep to pass the time by. I had been trying to sleep for about four hours, when I had finally been able to nod off.

I was startled awake by a dream of having Terry come back to me, only to have him leave again. Just the thought of that frightened me.

I wiped the sweat off of my forehead and reached over to the nightstand and grabbed the cell phone Edward had given me. I flipped it open and looked at the contacts. Only one. Terry.

There was a picture of him and I in what looked to be the backseat of Edward's Volvo. I had no idea when he took that picture.

I inhaled deeply and pressed the 'call' button.

The phone rang once.

Twice. At that point I felt crushed. _Maybe… Maybe he doesn't want to talk to me…_ I wondered if he ever thought about me at all. I did. Constantly.

Three times. I was ready to hang up when I heard a voice coming through the speaker. Terry's voice. "Uhh… Hello?"

The sound of his voice elicited such an emotional response from me. It was such a sense of relief. My body became tingly and shivers went down my spine. I had so much to say, but nothing came out.

"Hello? Jake? Is that you?"

A laughed escaped me. To hear him say my name sent more waves of emotion through me.

"If this is Jake, don't say anything."

I laughed again. "Yes, it's Jake."

"Well it can't be. You said something." I could tell he was smiling.

I smiled bigger than I thought possible. "It's me Terry. I umm… Hi."

"Hi."

We sat in silence for such a long time. Even though no words were being exchanged, I felt happy.

"How are you doing, Jake?"

"How am I doing?" A hysterical laugh left my mouth. "I've been better. But that's nothing to worry about. How are you doing? Are you feeling any better?" I wanted to know everything about him.

"I am. I feel a lot better actually."

That made me feel better. His time away was actually helping, it wasn't just cruel and unusual punishment. "That's fantastic. So…" I was going to ask when he was coming home but I didn't want to pressure him. Part of me also was afraid of the answer.

"I don't know, Jacob. I don't know when I'm coming home."

He knew me better than I thought. He knew I wanted to ask that. I felt a tinge of sadness come over me, but it was rivaled by the happiness that came from Terry still calling being with me, 'home'.

"How have you been? Really. I know I must've hurt you when I left. I still feel so horrible about doing that to you. I think about it constantly. I… I think about you constantly…"

'_Constantly'? _I felt tears forming again. But they were tears of happiness, not sadness. "I don't want to talk about how I've been." I didn't want to dump all of that onto him, but my aversion of the topic might get the same point across.

"Well can you tell me how things are going in Washington? How's the pack?" That reminded me of my yelling at Seth. I felt guilt for doing that. "How are Edward and Bella doing?" The memory of Bella's bruised face flashed through my mind. "How's school going? Come on I'm sure I missed out on a lot." _School… I don't even know about that one…_

"Alright. You're right, you have missed a lot. The pack's doing fine I guess, I haven't seen much of them lately. Bella and Edward are… still married, I guess is the best way to describe that." I heard him laugh. "School is uhh… School is school…"

"That doesn't sound good…"

I laughed. "It's not."

"Am I gonna have to punish you for failing in school?"

"Punish me huh? That sounds kinky… I may have to do worse in school…" I was so glad we could still have these kinds of conversations.

He laughed and then we were both quiet for a few minutes, just listening to the faint sound of each other's breathing. "So, is Billy mad at me for leaving?"

I didn't really know how to answer that. "He's not _mad_ so much as he's disappointed in you. Although, he might be mad because your leaving was indirectly responsible for my leaving…" _Wait… Maybe I shouldn't have said that…_

"Wait, what? You left? Left to where?"

Nothing I could do about it now. "I'm staying with the Cullens. They have a guest house that Carlisle said I could use as long as I wanted."

"What happened? Why did you leave?"

"Dad's house is too… filled with memories of you…" I didn't want to tell this to Terry. But I had to. "I had to leave to escape it all. You left to get better. I left to accept that you needed to leave to get better. I couldn't do it at home because… Everything there made it seem like… like you didn't love me anymore when you left…"

"Jake…"

I sighed. "I know it sounds stupid. That house was plaguing me, I needed a change of scenery to heal. I couldn't look at my empty bed and knowingly say you still loved me."

"Jake, I… I love you. You know that…"

Hearing Terry say he loved me, even though his love never changed, made me feel almost whole again. I felt stupid for ever doubting that he didn't. "I love you, Terry. Forever and always."

"…I'm sorry I hurt you…" His voice cracked like he was crying.

"Don't-don't cry… I'm fine now. I've got Edward to keep me company. He's always checking up on me." It was painfully true. In the month of my silence, Edward had been over everyday.

He sniffed. "He is?"

"Yeah. Edward's a good guy." Those words were true as well.

Another few moments of silence passed. "Jake… I need to go. It's pretty late…"

Sadness came over me. "Alright. I'll talk to you later then?"

"You can call me whenever you want to. This phone that Edward put in my bag can't call out. I've been waiting to hear your voice for a long time. What took you so long to call me?"

I laughed. "Edward didn't give me a phone until just a few hours ago. It's not my fault. Blame him."

"Goodnight Jacob. I love you."

"And I love you." It felt good knowing Terry wanted to talk to me as badly as I wanted to talk to him.

I hung up the phone and sat in the darkness of my new room for a few minutes. As time went on a sense of loneliness come over me. I inhaled deeply and put the phone back on the nightstand.

I just focused on the memory of Terry's voice as I tried to fall asleep.

-A/N-

This chapter was inspired by a few lines of:

Need You Now by Lady Antebellum

_Picture perfect memories scattered all around the floor. Reachin' for the phone 'cause I can't fight it anymore. And I wonder if I ever cross your mind, for me it happens all the time._

_It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now. Said I wouldn't call but I lost all control and I need you now. And I don't know how I can do without, I just need you now._


	16. Bonding

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

16. BONDING

There was a knock at my door. I wasn't asleep, seeing as how sleep was a rarity for me. I just didn't feel like answering.

It had been a week since I moved into the Cullens' guest house. A week in which each day was marginally better than the last.

_Not so much today…_ I rolled onto my stomach and pulled a pillow over my head.

The door opened. "Jacob? You're gonna be late for school." It was Edward. "Alice told me your motorcycle was still in the driveway, so I came to see what's going on."

Edward was kind enough to get my motorcycle from the airport a few days ago. I didn't want to go there to get it. He completely understood. Without lifting my head from under the pillow, I said, "I'm not going."

I wasn't sure if he understood what I said, but apparently he did. "Why not?"

"Today just… I don't… I don't feel good." It was hard to find the words.

Edward sat on my bed and lifted the pillow off of my head. "You can't just quit every time you feel down. You made great progress the past few days. Don't let that go away."

"I just… feel so miserable…"

"When was the last time you called Terry?" He reached for the phone on the nightstand, he flipped it open and looked through it. "You didn't even call him on the day I gave it to you? You made such a big deal about me waiting so long. And you only called him once and that was in the early hours of the morning after. Why haven't you called him since?"

I sighed. "I don't want to burden him, or to be a distraction from his healing. I figure the less interruptions he gets, the faster he'll be home. Even if not talking to him makes me depressed…"

He put the phone back on the nightstand. "There are as many nights as days, and one is just as long as the other in the year's course. Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word 'happy' would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness."

I sat there taking in his words. "Edward… How many of those crappy sayings do you have? Have you been saving up for just such an occasion as this?"

He laughed. "Maybe. But are my words any less true?"

Edward was right. Again. I didn't know how he did it, but he always had an old saying to fit whatever I was feeling perfectly. I sat up and looked at him. "You look terrible."

He had dark circles under his eyes, which in turn were as dark as night. Darker even. He chuckled. "Thanks. My family left hunting earlier. I stayed."

_Edward…_ "Why did you stay…?"

"Because you need me." There was no remorse in his words. He sounded absolutely sincere, like he wanted to be here with me.

"You haven't even seen Bella since…" Since I hit her. "Well, you know. I don't want to be the reason you guys drift apart. I'm fine, really."

He looked insulted. "You think our love is so pathetic, it would fade because I'm spending time with my friend?"

_Friend…_

"Yes Jacob. I consider you my friend. Anyway, Bella and I discussed it and we came to a mutual decision. She would stay at Charlie's house, so I can take care of you, until Terry comes back."

"No. I can't let you do that. There isn't even a set date on when he's coming back, I don't even know if he is!" I realized how true those words were as they left my mouth. I swallowed hard and tried to keep my composure. If I were to crumble, Edward would never leave.

He shook his head. "I'm not asking for your permission."

"I don't want you to waste time that could be spent with Bella."

"We have eternity. Well, maybe not." He looked thoughtful.

I had no idea what he was talking about. "What? I thought you were going to turn her? Why the 'maybe not'?"

He laughed. "She is still holding to the deal we made. She constantly brings up that I said I wanted her to live every human aspect of human life. She wants to consummate our marriage first."

"Isn't she worried about her age? She was all over that a while ago."

He shook his head, obviously baffled. "I don't know! Just one day it didn't matter anymore. I wish I could read her thoughts, I'd trade the ability to read everyone's thoughts, just to be able to hear hers."

We both looked thoughtful for a few minutes. "Wait, wait, wait. Did you say she wants to consummate your marriage first? You haven't done it yet? Did you even go on your honeymoon?" That's what couples did on their honeymoons, they had sex.

"We tried. I just can't get over the fear that I'm going to kill her." He looked frustrated.

I laughed. "Looks like Eddie's got a case of the blue balls."

He looked at me and laughed. "Yeah I suppose you could say that. But how about you? How's that having had sex and then having it disappear treating you?"

"Oooh, low blow. At least I've had sex. You're the hundred and ten year old virgin!" I laughed loudly.

"Ha ha. You know the real reason Terry left was because he doesn't like bestiality." He crossed his arms over his chest, expecting to have won.

I never thought I'd be having this conversation with Edward.

Ever.

But it was nice to have someone I could joke around with.


	17. Muse

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

17. MUSE

"Hey Jake, wait up!" I turned around to see Quil running towards me.

"What's up?" I hadn't talked to the pack in a while, it was nice to see some of them at school.

He shook his head. "Nothing. So, you living with the Cullens now? What's up with that?"

I never told any of them that I left La Push. Word must have gotten around somehow. "They offered me a place to stay, so I took it."

"What's wrong with your house?"

I sighed. "Nothing. Well, everything. Don't laugh. It hurts too much to be there. It reminds me of Terry."

"Nah man, I wouldn't laugh at that. I can't even imagine if Claire left." He put his hand on my shoulder. "I got a lot of respect for how you're handling that."

"Quil, Claire is two. She won't be leaving anywhere." It wasn't like he shared the intimate relationship I shared with Terry.

"Whatever." He looked past my shoulder, and shook his head. "Looks like you have a visitor."

I turned around to see Edward leaning up against his Volvo. _Do you really have to come pick me up…?_

He smirked. There was some sort of gleam in his eye. _What are you up to…?_

I looked back at Quil. "Alright, I guess I'll see you later."

"See ya."

I walked over to Edward. "Do you really need to come pick me up from school?"

"I dropped you off, why wouldn't I pick you up?" He sat in the driver's seat.

I climbed into the passenger seat, throwing my backpack in the back. "You only dropped me off because I was going to be late."

Edward started driving down the road. "So, how was school?"

"It was super. Thanks for asking, _Mom_."

He laughed. "Do you have any homework?"

I groaned. "Really? Do we need to do this?" I appreciated Edward being there for me and everything, but he was going overboard.

"Fine. What do you want to do today?"

"Come on now, Edward. I don't want to do anything today." I shifted uncomfortably.

"Remember what I said this morning? You need to accept that there will be some bad days, but they can be good days if you'll let them. You need to _live_,Jacob." We were silent for a while. I saw him smile. "Now tell me, do you have a favorite band?" He reached around back and grabbed a CD case.

I had no idea where that question came from. "Uhh… yeah. You probably never heard of them."

"Try me." He put the CD into the CD player and tried to stifle a smile.

"Fine, it's-" Just then a very familiar song started playing through the speakers. A song I listened to constantly. A song by my favorite band, Muse. "It's Muse… You listen to them?"

He laughed. "They're not my usual type of music, but there's something about them that captivates me. Just listen to the power in his voice."

We listened to the song as we drove along. Eventually I gave in to the urge I had been fighting. I sang along. "Love is our resistance. They keep us apart and they won't stop breaking us down. And hold me, our lips must always be sealed."

I felt my cheeks get hot. I was embarrassed after having sang out loud in front of Edward. That was until he sang the next line. "If we live our life in fear. I'll wait a thousand years, just to see you smile again. Kill your prayers for love and peace. You'll wake the thought police. We can hide the truth inside."

I laughed and we both sang the chorus, each taking a part. Edward sang back up while I sang the lead vocals. "(It could be wrong, could be wrong) But it should've been right. (It could be wrong, could be wrong) Let our hearts ignite. (It could be wrong, could be wrong) Are we digging a hole? (It could be wrong, could be wrong) This is outta control. (It could be wrong, could be wrong) It could never last. (It could be wrong, could be wrong) Must erase it fast. (It could be wrong, could be wrong) But it could've been right. (It could be wrong, could be...)"

We pulled into the driveway at his house as we both belted out the big finish. "The night has reached its end. We can't pretend. We must run. We must run. It's time to run. Take us away from here, protect us from further harm. Resistance!"

Edward and I erupted into hysterical laughter, as we both realized how stupid we were being. I had never seen this side of Edward before. I wondered if he was just acting like this because it's how I am, or if he really is like this somewhere deep down inside him.

"So you really like Muse?" It didn't connect that someone like Edward would like Muse. It's just not the music you'd think he would listen to.

He smiled. "Yes. I thought you would be able to tell from our recent display of idiocy."

"Well you never can tell."

He pointed to the glove box. "Open it."

I gave him a suspicious look as I reached over and opened it. Inside were two tickets. I picked them up and my jaw nearly dropped to the floor. "Tickets to see Muse in concert? No friggen way!"

Edward laughed. "Would you like to go with me?"

I honestly couldn't tell anymore if he was just trying to make me feel better or if he was being sincere. Maybe he was just trying to bribe me. On the inside, I hoped he was being sincere. I needed a friend. And Edward is turning out to be much different from how I imagined he was. "Of course! I'm not passing up these seats. I mean they're like right in the front! Edward you're the best."

He laughed again. "I wonder if people will get upset if we sing during the concert…"

I looked at him. "You've never been to a concert have you?"

-A/N-

The song Jacob and Edward were singing:

Resistance by Muse

Look it up. It's one of my favorites.

Yeah I know, this was a pretty lame chapter. Work with me. I know what I'm doing. :D


	18. Concert

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

18. CONCERT

It had been four days since Edward invited me to see Muse in concert with him. I was still very excited about those tickets.

The day I got the tickets, I was doing my homework in my room, struggling to figure out when I was ever going to use these math problems in real life. Edward must've heard I was frustrated, as he came in and offered his help.

I didn't want him tutoring me. I hated that he was smarter than I was. But when he was able to finish the math problems I had in less time than it took me to do one _single _problem, I reluctantly accepted his tutelage.

I should've asked him for help sooner. The way he explained everything made it so easy to understand. He said it was because he could read my thoughts about exactly what I didn't understand and help me that way. Edward was a great tutor.

But it didn't stop with math. The next day, I took a test on the stuff Edward had helped me with and I aced it. A+. I was just as shocked as my teacher. Since he helped me understand the math stuff so easily, I asked for help in all my other class subjects. I had been falling behind ever since Terry left, and Edward caught me up and actually put me at the head of my class within those four days.

Yeah, me, Jacob Black, head of the class. Go figure. I was ecstatic. And to make things even better the evening of the fourth night was the Muse concert.

Three hours of my favorite band, sitting damn close to the front. Edward seemed to be enjoying himself, he bought me and him Muse T-shirts and we wore them during the concert. I was utterly surprised Edward knew all the words to every song they played.

I was seeing a side of Edward I'm sure no one else had ever seen. Not even Bella.

As I stumbled to the car, my ears still ringing, I turned to Edward. "You are the man! First I discover you like Muse, then you give me tickets to see them live, then you tutor me and make me head of the class! How did I get so lucky to deserve a friend like you?"

He held up his hand. "You don't need to yell, I'm right here."

"Am I yelling? I can barely hear anything!" I opened the car door and sat down.

Edward got in the driver's seat and we waited in the traffic, trying to leave the arena. We were both quiet for a long time, well I thought we were. Edward could have offered me a million dollars and I didn't hear a thing. A few minutes after my ears stopped ringing, Edward started to talk. "I guess you could thank Terry for getting a friend like me."

"What do you mean?"

"Well you know he asked me to be there for you, like you were for Bella. And I guess I had always been blinded by my hatred for you for trying to steal Bella from me, that I never even gave you a chance. But ever since Terry came around, and you stopped fighting for Bella, I can truly see what a good guy you are."

I thought silently about that for a long time. It was true, I had also been blinded. I only saw Edward as a leech, trying to suck the life out of the girl I used to love. But he was right, now that I had Terry, I could see that he was a good guy as well. My mind started to drift to Terry. I still hadn't talked to him since that one time in the middle of the night.

"Why don't you call him now?" Edward answered my thoughts. "It's a long drive back, you should call him and catch up. I'm sure he'd like it as much as you would."

"I don't have the phone with me." I really did want to call Terry. I wanted to tell him that some song lyrics reminded me of our relationship.

Edward reached into his pocket and pulled out the phone I had left on my nightstand.

I looked at him, completely surprised. "You really do think of everything, don't you?"

He smiled. "I try to."

I took the phone from him and opened it. "Thanks." I found the only contact in the phone and called it. There wasn't going to be much privacy in the car with Edward, but I turned my body to the window, trying to make a barrier between us. Like that would help.

On the first ring, he picked up. "Jake!"

A smile crossed my lips. "Hi Terry."

"So to what do I owe this phone call?"

"Well I just saw Muse in concert and-"

I was interrupted by Terry. "You just saw Muse? I love Muse!"

"I think I just fell in love with you even more…" I couldn't stop myself from smiling as he laughed.

Edward tapped my arm. "Hey, I love Muse. Does that mean you love me too?"

I waved him off and continued. "Anyway, as I was saying, I just saw them in concert, and the lyrics to one of their songs reminded me of us."

"Sing it for me."

I cleared my throat and began singing some lines from 'Neutron Star Collision'. "I have nothing left to lose. You took your time to choose, then we told each other with no trace of fear that... Our love would be forever. And if we die, we die together. And lie, I said never, 'cause our love would be forever."

"You're singing voice rivals the lead singer." He laughed.

"What? You're comparing me to the great Matt Bellamy? I should be honored."

He sighed. "That song speaks volumes. I'm so glad you called. I've been waiting ever since you hung up last time." He sounded upset with me.

I laughed. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to give you space, I can be a pretty big distraction. I didn't want you to sway off course and make it even longer until I can see you again."

He was silent.

"You still don't know when you're coming home, do you?" I wanted so badly to be able to hug him close to me.

Edward grabbed my shoulder. "Don't push him." _I'm not trying to…_

"I'll be back as soon as I can. I'm… I'm seeing a therapist, and he said that I shouldn't rush into any hasty decisions. He wants me to continue seeing him for a few months."

_Months…? _"Wait, you're talking to a shrink? How did you explain that?"

He laughed. "Don't worry, I told him basically the truth. You fell in love with me and we really connected on a deep level. I told him how we danced at Bella's wedding and how I realized I loved you too."

I shook my head, even though he couldn't see me. "That's not what I meant. How did you explain what happened with Leah?"

"That was easier to explain than you think. I just told him I was attacked by a wolf in the forest." _Yeah… Sure that's easier…_ "You know, he constantly tells me that I need to focus on something other than you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Most of what I talk about is you. He wanted me to keep a journal of how I feel day to day. Almost every page somewhere has the words 'Jacob' and 'love'." Even though he was miles away, I could feel his smile.

I felt my eyes get wet. "That means a lot to me Terry… I think about you constantly too."

"I love you, Jake."

"I love you."

We were both quiet for a while. Terry broke the silence. "I gotta go… Call me again soon?"

"Of course. I'll talk to you later then." We were reaching the part of the phone call I hated the most.

"Bye." Click.

I waited for the overwhelming sense of loneliness. But much to my surprise it was as powerful as last time. It of course tugged at my heartstrings, but it wasn't nearly as painful.

"See? You're both getting better."

I had forgotten Edward was even there. "Yeah, I… I guess so."

-A/N-

This chapter was inspired by:

Neutron Star Collision by Muse

This song played in Eclipse during the graduation party, specifically, when Bella is talking to Jacob.

_I was searching, you were on a mission. Then our hearts combined like a neutron star collision._

_I have nothing left to lose. You took your time to choose, then we told each other with no trace of fear that..._

_Our love would be forever. And if we die, we die together. And lie, I said never, 'cause our love would be forever._

_The world is broken. Halos fail to glisten. You try to make a difference, but no one wants to listen._

_Hail, the preachers, fake and proud. Their doctrines will be cloud? Then they'll dissipate like snowflakes in an ocean._

_Love is forever. And we'll die, we'll die together. And lie, I say never, 'cause our love could be forever._

_Now I've got nothing left to lose. You take your time to choose. I can tell you now without a trace of fear…_

_That my love will be forever. And we'll die, we'll die together. Lie, I will never, 'cause our love will be forever._


	19. Therapy

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

19. THERAPY

**Terry's POV**

"And how are you feeling today?" David Abraham, my psychotherapist, leaned back in his chair.

I smiled. "It's another good day."

David (he wanted us to be on first name basis to be more comfortable) laughed. "That's fantastic! This makes the fifth good day in a row."

"Yeah."

"I like how good you're doing. Much better than that entire month you spent not talking or anything. The only way I knew what was going on with you was through that journal." He pointed to the journal I was holding.

I looked down. I really didn't want to relive that month.

"Are you ready to talk about what brought about this streak of great days? What changed?" He leaned forwards, ready to engage me in conversation.

"Alright. Let's see… It was the middle of the night and I was struggling to sleep as usual, when out of no where my cell phone rang. Mind you, this isn't an ordinary cell phone." I took out the phone and placed it on the table between us.

David picked it up. "What's so 'not ordinary' about it?"

I smiled. "It only receives calls."

"You can't call out from this phone?"

I shook my head.

He looked confused. "I don't get it."

"It's a phone that only receives call from one person." I felt warm as I thought about who that one person was.

"Who?"

"Jacob." Saying his name sent electricity through me.

He nodded his head knowingly. "I see. Continue." David put the phone back on the table.

I picked it up, looking at it. "Like I said, out of no where the phone rings, for the first time since I found it in my backpack."

"You 'found' it? What do you mean?"

"Well, this isn't my cell phone. Edward, the guy who drove me to the airport, had slipped it into my bag, along with a note that said: 'Dear Terry, this is a phone that only Jacob can call you from. You cannot call anyone using this phone, it only receives calls. I gave this to you so when the day comes that Jacob can handle talking to you, he can call you. Edward.'" I took out the note from my pocket and handed it to David.

He looked at it. "Nice handwriting Edward has. Now tell me, what did he mean by 'when the day comes that Jacob can handle talking to you'?"

I sighed. "Jacob feels terrible about what happened in the clearing. He sees it as it was his fault. His fault that he couldn't protect me. And he blames himself for the fact that I felt as though I needed to leave Washington in order to feel better." I wasn't explaining Jacob's love for me well enough, but it was hard to explain imprinting to him without explaining the whole deal. "He really loves me and it hurt him tremendously that he wasn't able to help me himself."

"I see. Continue your story, please."

"Where was I?" I thought for a moment about what I was talking about. "Right, the phone rings. I picked it up and it said 'Jacob' on the caller id. I didn't know what to do. I felt nervous, I didn't like to think that he was miserable because I left. The phone rang a second time. I just stared at it. On the third ring, I picked up. I couldn't stand having him feel worse because I didn't answer."

"And?"

"And I said hello. I spoke for almost the first time in a month. And at first he didn't answer back. I asked if it was really Jacob on the line and he laughed. It was such a wonderful sound. Eventually said hi and his voice was much more beautiful than my memory gave him credit for." I smiled thinking about how I felt that night, hearing Jacob's voice.

David leaned back in his chair and thought for a moment. "It was that phone call that brought you out of your despair. Talking to Jacob, hearing that _he _was doing better, made you feel better."

I thought about that for a minute. "Yeah, I… I guess you're right."

He looked me in the eyes. "I wonder if… no… I better not…"

"You wonder what?"

He shook his head. "Nothing, forget about it."

"Oh come on! You can't do that! I hate secrets…" I crossed my arms over my chest.

David laughed. "It's not a secret, I just think I should wait on telling you. I don't want to indirectly ruin your 'good days' streak."

I pouted.

"Alright, enough with the heavy. Shall we do some more physical therapy?" He stood up from his chair.

I nodded. David had been helping me with my injured leg since I started coming to see him. I almost had no use for my cane anymore. I still carried it with me for the times when the strain of walking just becomes too painful.

Jacob was helping me. Just not in the way either of us thought he would.

-A/N-

_David Abraham is based on real-life psychotherapist, David Abrams. He lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Psychotherapist David Abrams assists his clients in alleviating depression, anxiety, and phobias, creating healthy relationships (healthy communication), treating trauma and pain, coping with grief and loss, building self esteem and social skills, anger management, problem solving, modifying unhealthy behaviors, strengthening self-esteem, gaining insight and awareness to create ones desired change._


	20. Decision

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

20. DECISION

**Jacob's POV**

A few weeks had passed since the concert, each filled with days that varied from good to miserable. The events of those days were what lead me to make the decision.

During the first week, I was the most wishy-washy. I would get out of bed each morning, and look in the mirror. Some days I saw life behind my eyes. Other days, I didn't even recognize the man looking back at me.

The second week, I was almost sure I was going to be fine. School was going great. Still top of my class, thanks to Edward's tutoring. Dad even stopped by. He told me he understood why I had to leave his house. And he wished me luck in my endeavors to feel better.

The third week is what ultimately led to my decision. It was a bad week. A really bad week. So bad, even some days I didn't get up for school. I couldn't bring myself to get up.

Near the end of the week, the idea hit me. I smiled to myself in the mirror that morning. _Today's the day. It's gonna be a good day._ The cell phone on my night stand went off. I picked it up. A text message from Terry. _Good morning ;)_

We had started texting each other a few days ago. I had only called him twice a week for the past three weeks and he decided if I won't call him, we'll text each other.

I smiled as I texted back. _Thinking of you. _I liked the fact that Terry and I both texted in complete sentences. I couldn't stand the fact that people don't do that. It infuriated me.

I took a shower and put on a pair of shorts. _I should run this by Edward first…_ My decision was a hasty one and I wasn't sure if it would help or hinder Terry's healing.

I walked out of my house (the Cullens' guest house) and into the Cullens' house, looking for him. "Hey Edward?"

"He's not here." It was Emmett, calling from in the living room.

I walked over to Emmett sitting on the couch. "Where'd he go?"

"Hanging out with Bella, if he's not with you." He raised an eyebrow.

I narrowed my eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He put his hands up. "Hey, hey. What you do in your bedroom with my brother is your business."

"Ok whatever." I turned around, leaving the living room.

"No hey, wait." I turned back to see Emmet walking over towards me. "I'm just messing with you."

I shrugged. "Yeah, yeah."

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" I couldn't fathom why Emmett would want to talk to me, or what it could possibly be about.

I was intrigued. "Sure, what's up?"

"How are you doing?" His eyebrows raised with concern.

_Come on Emmet… Not you too… _"I'm fine."

"I know, everyone asks you that. But I just had to. We're all worried about you." It was kind of nice to know all the Cullens cared about me. "Look, just whatever you think is best, probably is. I always trust my first instinct and it has never failed me. Go with what's in here." He pointed to my chest.

I looked at him. Emmett never came off as a 'deep' kind of guy to me. But I learned Edward isn't as reserved as he looks. Maybe all the Cullens have a secret side. "Thanks Emmett. You're pretty deep, aren't you?"

He laughed. "I may be undead, but I know how things work."

I shook my head. "I'm pretty sure undead things are like zombies."

"Nah man. Undead covers all things that aren't living but are… alive… I guess is how to put it."

I laughed. "Alright Emmett, I'll catch you later."

"Catch you later." He walked back into the living room.

I walked over to the front door, thinking about what Emmett said. _It's like he knew what I wanted to do…_

Edward opened the door and walked inside. "Hey Jacob."

"Good, Edward. I was just about to go looking for you." I was glad he walked inside, I didn't have to go looking for him.

"I was with Bella. She says hello by the way." He smiled.

I nodded. "Tell her I said hi. Anyway, there's something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Alright, what is it?" He looked honestly curious as to what I wanted to say.

I motioned to my house. "Come here."

He followed me into my living room and sat on the couch. I paced back and forth. "Well, what's going on Jacob?"

It was time to reveal my decision. I was faltering in my choice earlier but after Emmett's mysterious words of wisdom, I knew it was the right choice. I smiled at Edward. "I'm gonna go to Phoenix."

-A/N-

Alright. I've gotten a few messages about the direction this story is going. Let me just promise you guys something. This story is Jacob/Terry. Not Jacob/Edward.

It has come to my attention that some of you think that Edward and Jacob's relationship is getting 'too close' for friends, but I just wanted their friendship to show how similar they really are.

I'm just marveled at the thought of this story being Jacob/Edward. I never intended for the story to go that way, and trust me it never will. This is all Jacob/Terry. :D


	21. Coercion

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

21. COERCION

"You're what?" Edward looked really confused. I think it was the first time I had ever taken him off guard.

I smiled. "I'm going to Phoenix."

"What? When? Why? I don't…" Edward's loss for words was a very entertaining thing. I never thought it would happen.

"Look. I need to see Terry. It'll refresh me. Make me able to handle not being with him for a while longer." I sat on the couch next to Edward.

He shook his head. "I don't know. This seems like a bad idea to me."

I tried to remain focused. I needed to see Terry. That's what I felt in my heart. I recalled what Emmett had told me earlier. _'Look, just whatever you think is best, probably is. I always trust my first instinct and it has never failed me. Go with what's in here.'_

"Emmett…" Edward shook his head again.

"I won't… I won't talk to him. I won't even let him know I'm there. I just need to see him. To know that him being away is really helping." I felt like I could handle that.

He looked at me. "You don't even know where he is in Phoenix."

I tried to suppress a smile. He wasn't saying I couldn't go. "I'll find him. Wolf senses. You know."

He look dubious. "You're going to walk around Phoenix, Arizona as a giant wolf…?"

_Damn…_ "I uhh… I-I-I-I…" I had nothing.

"You…" He raised his eyebrows.

It hit me then. A smile slowly crossed my lips.

"No."

"Oh come on!" I stood up. "It'll work!"

He shook his head, crossing his arms. "No."

"You didn't even let me explain…" My shoulders slumped.

"I don't need to. I can read your mind." As he looked at my face, his eyes widened.

_Gotcha…_ "Exactly. You come with me, and you can read people's minds. You can see if Terry is in any of their thoughts until we find where he is." I crossed my arms, victoriously.

Edward stared back at me, completely confused. He shook his head, and looked thoughtful for a few minutes. "I… How am I supposed to walk around looking for Terry in the sun?"

He had me. I racked my brain for the answer. He looked back at me, waiting patiently for my rebuttal. This had become a game. "Alright, how's this? We only go out when the sun has set?"

There it was, the dumbfounded face I rarely saw. He stared at me for a while. "Fine. We'll go."

I smiled, truly victorious this time. "Thank you, Edward."

"When did you plan on going?"

"Today." I shook my head. "I can't wait anymore."

"Alright." He looked at the ground. "Jacob, how did you… How did you trick me? No one other than Bella can get me like that…"

I laughed. "Well you can only read my thoughts _when _I think them. I found out how to beat that. You gotta be spontaneous."

A crooked smile crossed his lips. "You're an interesting one alright… Ok, so let me get this straight. We're going to go to Phoenix, spend who knows how long looking for Terry, and then what? You're going to look at him and we're going to leave?"

"Maybe we'll catch him leaving for the therapist or something. I just need to see that him being away is truly helping, not making it worse or anything…" I didn't know if it could be making it worse for him, but it was making it worse for me.

"But you talk to him on the phone. Doesn't that… get the message across?"

I shook my head. "He sounds happier, but that could just be an act to make me think he's getting better. The only way to know for sure is to see him without him knowing I'm there. That way I'm getting an unbiased view."

He took a deep breath. "Alright. I'm going to go tell Bella I'm leaving for Phoenix…" He still looked shocked as to how he got coerced into my plans.

I smiled again. "Thanks."

Edward got off the couch and left. I had a big smile on my face as I walked into my bedroom and got out my backpack. I dumped out the school stuff and started packing for the big trip.

I just hoped I could actually see Terry and leave, without running up to him and kissing him wildly. Just the thought of kissing him got me excited.

I looked at my bed. Terry's pajamas were still laid out on half of the mattress. I picked them up and held them to my face. They still smelled like him, but as time went on the smell was getting fainter and fainter.

I smiled meekly and put the pajamas in my backpack. _Soon… He'll be home soon…_

I picked up the cell phone and looked at it. A new text message from Terry. _How's your day going?_

I smiled as I texted back. _Much better than it started. I'll see you soon._

If only he knew how soon that was.

I closed the phone and laid back on my bed. I let my mind wander. I got lost in my thoughts of when Terry finally comes home. There would be hugging. There would be kissing. There would be sex.

I smiled at the idea of having sex with Terry again. There was just something about it. The intensity of his stare. The feeling of his skin on mine. I sensation of his lips gliding over my own. The electricity of the moment when our bodies became one.

I needed Terry so badly. I needed him emotionally _and_ physically.

When we get to Phoenix, all I can allow myself is a brief look. Nothing more or I will lose myself in him. I sat up and decided to cross that bridge when I got to it.


	22. Prattle

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

22. PRATTLE

First class. That's how Edward flies. It was my first time flying first class. Well really it was my first time flying at all. There was no hiding how scared I was from Edward, he'd just read my thoughts anyway.

Take off was a very bizarre feeling, I'm pretty sure my intestines are still in Washington. Once we were in the air and Edward forced me to open my window shade, it was actually kind of cool. I liked looking out at all of the tiny, tiny objects as we flew above them.

There was this one lady behind Edward and I, who kept complaining. First it was too drafty, then it was too hot. It took us a few minutes, but we came to the conclusion it was because of us, Edward being so cold and me being so hot.

Luckily for Edward, the plane had touched down in Phoenix at some point in the middle of the night. Much to my surprise at the rental car place, Edward made a last minute decision. 'You know what? Upgrade us to a convertible.' I was pretty shocked. Edward? Being spontaneous?

He said it was for me, mainly because of how freaking hot it was in Phoenix. My shirt was off the minute we left the airport.

Edward sped down the road in our rented convertible Ford Mustang. I'll admit it, he knew how to pick his cars. I was leaning my head back on the head rest, dying of heat stroke, when Edward started laughing. "Leave it to the dog to have his tongue out in the wind. I'm surprised your head isn't out the window."

I turned my head towards him. "I considered it."

He laughed some more. "Ok, Fido. Now how are we going to find Terry?"

I thought for a moment. "Well, given how late it is… Or rather, how _early _it is, we should just find a hotel for the day, and go looking for him later."

Edward looked at the clock on the dashboard. "Good idea. Now let's see…" He started to look around for a place to stay.

After a few minutes he pulled up to this _huge_ hotel. There were no parking spots near the entrance, so he just pulled up to the curb. "Here, take this and go get us a room." He handed me a credit card.

I looked up at the monumental building and back at Edward. "We don't need to stay at a place like this. I mean you don't even sleep, I don't need something this fancy."

"Hey, why not?" He shrugged his shoulders. "Now go. I'll park the car and meet you inside."

I grabbed my shirt and got out of the car. I pulled my shirt over my head and walked over to the door. _Edward sure is different from how he usually is…_ I walked inside and my jaw nearly hit the floor. The lobby was astounding. Marbled floors, golden hand rails, even a mini waterfall. A waterfall _inside_ a hotel.

I walked over to the front desk and the man behind the counter turned to me with a big smile. "Hello sir, how may I be of service to you?"

I heard the door open and Edward was walking over to me. "I'd like a room."

"A room for one."

"No two." I corrected the man.

He looked up from his computer just as Edward got to my side. He looked back and forth between the two of us, before nodding in recognition. "I see. How many beds will you be needing?"

Edward spoke up. "Just one."

I turned to look at him. _Really… Do you know how this is gonna sound…?_ He just smirked.

The man looked again, between the two of us. "Ohh… I see…"

I held my hands up to protest. "No, no. You don't see-"

"I get it, I get it. It's cool. You guys are on the down-low." The man looked back down at his computer.

I turned to look at Edward who was stifling his laughter. _I hate you. _I handed the man Edward's credit card. "I'd like room service too. I haven't eaten in a while."

"Of course, sirs. Right away." The man finished ringing up the bill and handed back the card, which I immediately handed back to Edward. "Ahh, the man pays the bill."

"Wait, what?" I looked at Edward who started to laugh out loud.

The man just winked at me as he handed me the key card for the room.

Edward and I walked to the elevator. "Why does everyone think we're together?"

"What do you mean 'everyone'?" He pressed the button to call the elevator.

"That guy, Emmett…"

Edward put his hand out. "Wait, Emmett thinks we're together? He _knows_ I'm married to Bella, right?"

I shrugged. "Beats me. And what was with that guy? '_The man pays the bill_'."

Edward smiled as we stepped into the elevator. "Well out of the two of us, I'm more likely to be the pitcher, I suppose."

I laughed. "Please. I am a total top. There's no way I'd take it from you."

"He seemed to think you do."

"_He_ doesn't know what he's talking about. Besides, I'm bigger and stronger than you. That makes me the top." We walked out of the elevator and towards our room.

Edward laughed. "Sure you're stronger than me. And that has nothing to do with who's the top."

"Yes it does. Can you see someone like me taking it from someone smaller than me? It just doesn't seem right." I swiped the card and opened the door.

"That guy could see you taking it from me." Edward threw my bag onto the floor.

I collapsed onto what might have been the softest bed in existence. "That guy is dumb!"

"Whatever you say, Jacob."

I scratched my head before suddenly yelling. "Why are we even arguing about this?"

Edward sat down in a chair and just laughed.


	23. Mother

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

-A/N-

After the last chapter with the argument about who would be giving and who would be receiving between Jacob and Edward, I had a discussion with a friend of mine. I say Jacob would be the top, while my friend says it would be Edward.

So I'm going to ask you, my readers, to answer the question of 'Who is the top?'.

23. MOTHER

"Oh sweet mother of God!" I had rolled over in bed and opened my eyes to see Edward sitting in a chair staring at me. "You scared the crap out of me."

Edward had one hand rubbing his forehead as he continued to stare at me.

"What's wrong with you?" I sat up and watched as Edward's facial expression remained exactly the same.

"You have very… _vivid_ dreams…"

I didn't understand what he meant. "What?"

"Your dreams, they are very… _graphic_…" He sat straighter in the chair.

"Ok?"

He saw I was obviously not following him. "You know I can hear your thoughts, right? Well your dreams count as thoughts…"

I started to feel a little embarrassment. "What uhh… What did I dream about last night?" As if I didn't already know.

"Terry."

"Oh." We both just sat there in silence for a few minutes. I shifted uncomfortably and realized a horrible truth. "I'm gonna go… change my boxers…"

Edward nodded with a very grim face. He knew what happened. It wasn't my fault, I hadn't had sex in who knows how long.

After I had ordered room service and devoured all they had to offer me, I checked the clock. The sun had set a half hour ago. I apparently slept the whole day away, which worked for me. "Alright, are we ready to go find Terry?"

Edward nodded. "Yes, while you were… let's say sleeping… I looked through a phone book for any 'Prokop' families in Phoenix. Do you know his mother's name?"

I thought for a minute. I was sure Terry had told me his mom's name. "I think it starts with an 'M'."

"Good, that narrows it down to only one house. Shall we?" Edward opened the door and started walking. I was glad we only had one stop. Just in, out, done. As we got in the car and started driving around town, Edward started talking. "You know I can hear you thinking right now, right?"

I turned away, watching the buildings pass. "Yeah."

"You're going to be able to just look in the window at him and see that he's ok? And we're just going to leave?" I noticed that he was trying to reassure me that when I see him, he's going to be fine.

I nodded. "I'll be fine."

After a few minutes of driving we pulled up to the house. I started my deep breathing. _Ok, I'm just gonna go up to the window and peek inside. That's all. I can do this._

I opened my door and Edward grabbed my arm. "Wait… Terry's not here."

I whipped around. "What do you mean, 'Terry's not here'? He has to be here!"

"I can only hear a woman's thoughts. She's watching TV. Terry's not here."

"Ok, maybe he's at therapy." Terry did say he was seeing a therapist.

Edward pointed to the dashboard clock. "I don't believe he'd be at a therapist this late. He has to be out somewhere."

I opened my door and got out.

"Wait, where are you going?"

I started to walk up to the front door. "I'm gonna ask if she knows where Terry is."

"Jacob wait, I don't think that's a good-" Edward was interrupted by me ringing the door bell. "idea…"

I waited for a few seconds and heard footsteps coming to the door. The door opened and a woman looked up at me with a shocked face. "Oh, hello."

"Hi, Mrs. Prokop. Is Terry home?" I waited for her answer as she looked me up and down, I quickly realized my shirt was in the car.

"I'm sorry, what?" The woman quickly shook her head and looked back at my face.

"Is Terry home?" I heard over my shoulder a car door open, as Edward walked over to me.

Mrs. Prokop looked confused. "No, last I heard he went to Washington. Why do you ask?"

Edward spoke. "I'm sorry, we're two of Terry's high school friends. I tried to tell Jacob here that Terry doesn't live here anymore, but he just wouldn't listen."

I turned to look at Edward. _What?_

As Mrs. Prokop turned to face Edward, she looked smitten. Two handsome men were at her front door. She shook her head again. "Right, Terry lives with his friend across town."

Edward nodded politely. "Thank you. Have a pleasant evening."

"You boys too." She took one last look at us and closed the door.

Edward started walking back to the car. I ran after him. "What's going on?"

"When you asked if Terry lived here, in her mind the thoughts of where exactly Terry lived flashed by. Apparently she doesn't know he came back, or a thing about you either." He sat in the driver's seat, starting the car. "I wanted to see if she knew anything about you, that's why I mentioned your name. When I said it, she didn't recall anything that had to do with the name 'Jacob', so she doesn't know that you and Terry are together as it turns out."

I felt my heart sink. _Why didn't Terry tell his mom…?_ I laid my head in my hand.

Edward placed a hand on my shoulder. "Come on, Jake. It's not as bad as you think. Let's go see him."

I just nodded. I was going to have a harder time just seeing Terry now that I had a question I needed an answer to.


	24. Found

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

24. FOUND

"It's going to be fine, Jacob." Edward sped down the road towards the other end of Phoenix. "It's probably nothing."

I knew Terry meant no harm by not telling his mom that we were together, but it still hurt. "I know."

"Cheer up. Look at where we are, Jacob. We're in Phoenix, Arizona, looking for your love. How could you possibly be down when we are so close to him?" He had a point.

Edward had been kind enough to come with me, paying for everything, on this little excursion of mine. Edward was right, like he was so often. We traveled quite some distance for me to see Terry, I had no reason to feel depressed.

"We're here." Edward's voice pulled me out of my reverie.

I looked out of the car at the house we had parked in front of. I started to get nervous.

"He's in there. I can hear his thoughts."

I turned back to face Edward. "Really? What is he doing?"

Edward looked over to the house. "He's getting ready for bed. I believe he's brushing his teeth."

_Ok Jacob, this is it. Time to go see if Terry really is as fine as he claims to be…_ I opened the car door silently.

Edward placed a hand on my shoulder. "Good luck. Remember, just a peek."

_I know, I know._ I got out of the car and walked over to one of the windows. I looked inside and it was just the kitchen. I looked around trying to get my bearings as to where things would be in this house.

"He's over there." Edward pointed to a window on the far side of the house.

As I slowly walked towards the window, I started to doubt myself. _Ok, just a peek. That's all. Nothing more… Just pop your head in the window, see that he's ok, and then leave._ When I reached the window, I took a deep breath and looked inside.

There he was. Terry was in the bathroom, looking in the mirror as he brushed his teeth. My heart rate started to accelerate just at the sight of him. I felt a smile cross my lips as I watched him.

He looked to be doing ok, just like he had said he was doing. Although I couldn't tell much just by looking at him. After a few minutes, Terry turned off the light and left the bathroom.

My heart sank._ G-goodnight… Terry…_ I wanted so much to be there with him. To hold him. To sleep with him. But I did what I came here to do. I saw he was doing ok and now all I had to do was leave.

Begrudgingly, I walked back over to the car. When I reached it, I placed my hand on the side. My thoughts were racing. Edward spoke slowly. "Jacob… I don't think you should do that…"

"I know! I know! I wasn't going to… I just…"

"Jacob, get in the car now. We should go." Edward was talking to me like I was crazy.

I turned around a half-step. I looked at the front door. _I can make it there before Edward stops me._ Something flashed before my eyes. Edward had gotten out of the car and was now standing between me and the house. "Get out of my way, Edward."

"No. We need to go. We don't know if it would help or hinder Terry if he were to see you now. It wouldn't be in his best interest." He placed an icy hand on my bare chest.

I flinched back. "_His_ best interest… What about _my _best interest? I have been miserable because Terry, the love of my life, my imprint, had left. He left because of something I could have stopped! Do you know what that feels like? Do you know what I'm going through? I am mere feet away from seeing him and I'm not going to let you take this away from me!"

"Jacob! Shh!" Edward stepped closer to me. "Stop being so loud or-someone's coming." Edward peered over his shoulder. "It's Terry's friend, he's going to check to see what's causing so much noise out here."

"Let him check."

Edward turned back to face me. "Don't you say a word."

The door opened and a guy our age stepped out. "Hey, what's going on out here?"

"Sorry, we just got a flat tire and ended up getting into a little bit of an argument. We'll try to keep it down." Edward so easily lied to people.

"Flat tire, huh? Do you guys need any help or anything?" The guy took a few more steps outside.

Edward held up his hands. "No, no. We've got it all under-"

"Can I see Terry?" I interrupted him.

"What?" The guy now looked suspicious and took a step backwards.

Edward looked at me angrily and then called back over to the guy. "Nothing. He's just a friend of Terry's. Weird that we'd get a flat in front of his house, right?"

"Yeah, weird…" The guy still looked suspicious of us.

I was tired of people lying about Terry and me. I had a burning desire to see Terry and no leech or random guy was going to get in my way. "Damn it, Edward! I am not just Terry's friend. I am his boyfriend, his lover, whatever you want to call it!" I turned to the guy, who now was completely shocked. "Look, whoever you are, I need to see Terry. I'm sure he's told you about me. I'm Jacob. I need to see him."

"Jeff, what's all that noise-" The voice caught my attention.

I looked over to see Terry step out from the house. As our eyes met, my heart melted. I had missed his stare, his beautiful eyes. And here they were.

"Jacob?" Terry took a step closer to me, and I smiled at him.


	25. Sleep

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

-A/N-

Ok, now that I've finished with New Light, I can focus solely on this and make it better for everyone. I still need those reviews though, how can I make it in to the best story for you and for me, if I don't get any feedback?

Not that I don't love all the readers who comment me now, I really do. I just know there's a few of you reading this that don't comment and you're missing out on shaping the story into the best story it can be for you.

On a side note, you guys really think that Edward would be the top out of him and Jacob? Really? I don't even know what to say to that.

25. SLEEP

"Jacob?" Terry took a step closer to me, and I smiled at him. "Is that really you?"

"Yes." I could see out of the corner of my eyes, Edward watching Terry closely.

Terry took another step closer. "What-what are you doing here?"

I couldn't place the emotion in his voice. I started to get nervous. "I came to see you. I… needed to see you…"

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Why didn't you call?"

I had a bad feeling. Edward didn't move or say anything, he just continued to stare at him. I wished I knew what was going on in Terry's head. "I never actually meant to talk to you or anything, I just needed to see that you were ok…"

"I told you I was fine."

Edward shifted uncomfortably next to me. This wasn't going well at all. I could feel myself getting sad, the corners of my mouth were starting to involuntarily pull down at the corners. "Edward was right…" I started to walk over towards the car.

"Wait… Where are you going?"

I turned around to see Terry had taken more steps towards me. "I can see you don't want me here… I'm gonna go back home now…" I turned back as a tear slid down my cheek.

"I never said I wanted you to leave." A hand was placed on my back. The contact sent the electricity through my body I had been missing.

I turned around again, and Terry was right there in front of me. "Terry…" I tried for as long as I could to resist, but it was no use. I pulled him to me as tightly as I could. His body pressed to mine felt so fantastic. So right.

"Jake, what are you doing?" Terry pushed back from me and I let him go, crushed.

I turned my head away, I couldn't bare to look at his face. "I'm sorry…"

"You better be." Terry placed a hand on the side of my face and turned my head to face him. "Two months apart and _that's_ all you do?"

Before I could process what he said, he pulled my face to his, our lips crashing together with such passion and love that I had no idea how I was able to live without it for so long. I pulled his body to mine again, my hand feeling the familiar contours of his face.

After a few moments had passed, Terry pulled back again. He smiled at me and my heart raced. "Now that's what you should have done."

"Terry…" I touched my hand to the side of his face, smiling as big as I could.

Terry's friend, Jeff, cleared his throat. "Well now that you two have gotten… _reacquainted…_ I'm gonna go back to bed." He turned and walked back into the house.

"Well that wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be…" Edward walked over to us.

"I told you coming here was the right thing to do."

Edward shook his head. "That's not what I meant. I half expected you two to have sex right here."

Terry laughed. "Hi Edward."

"Hello Terry. How have you been?"

Terry shrugged his shoulders. "I'm better now."

"It would seem so." Edward put a hand on both of our shoulders. "I'm going to go back to the hotel and let you guys… let's say talk."

"Alright Edward, I'll see you again right?" Terry asked.

He nodded.

"Wait, wait. I want you to hear the answer to this." I turned back to Terry. I had a question that needed answering, and with Edward here I was sure I would get the truth from Terry one way or another. "Can I ask you something?"

Terry looked up to me. "Of course."

I thought of the best way to word it. Eventually I just gave up and asked the question. "Alright Terry, if Edward and I were in a relationship, who would be the top?"

Terry was taken completely off guard. "I don't-wait, what?"

"If Edward and I were an item, who would top? You know, pitch, dominate, give, whatever you would like to call it."

He stared at me for a while, completely lost. "Are you planning on being in a relationship with Edward anytime soon?"

Edward laughed. "No, I don't think he could handle me."

I gave Edward a look and Terry laughed too. "I don't see why this is important then."

"Good answer, Terry." Edward turned to the car. "I'll see you guys later."

"Hey, hey! That's no fair! Terry obviously thought of an answer, now tell me!"

Edward shook his head as he started the car and drove off down the road, laughing.

"It's not that big of a deal, Jacob." Terry stepped closer to me, placing a hand on my chest.

I wrapped my hand around his, and stared into his eyes. "I love you, Terry."

He smiled. "I love you. C'mon inside. You can sleep with me tonight."

He turned and started walking towards the house. I walked faster up to him and held his hand as he led me through the house to his room.

On the way I noticed he was walking without his cane. There was only a slight limp, but I only noticed it because I was looking for it.

When we got to his room he laid on his bed and I climbed in after him. His bed was much bigger than mine was at Dad's house, but he still got real close to me and laid his head on my chest.

Something caught my eye on his nightstand. I picked it up. It was a copy of the picture of us from Edward's wedding. I smiled and Terry lifted his head to see what I was looking at. "Edward had put that in my bag before I got on the plane. He thought I would want to have it and he was right, I look at it every night before I got to sleep."

"Well tonight you can look at the real thing before you go to sleep." I placed the frame back on the nightstand.

One of his hands started freely roaming across my bare torso. "I'd like to do more than just look at you tonight…"

As much as I wanted to just give in and have sex with him right then and there. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. "Not tonight Terry."

"'Not tonight'? What do you mean? You can't tell me you don't want to." His hand traveled lower and grabbed a handful of me. "_Something_ here wants to."

"Haa…" _Focus, Jacob!_ "Not-not-not tonight…"

He looked up at me. "Why not?"

"I want to do it for the first time again when I have you home in my bed. I want it to be special, not just because we haven't seen each other in a long time. I was never supposed to even be talking to you. I'm cheating enough as it is, I don't want to take more than I have and tempt fate." I watched as his face told me he didn't buy it. "Oh alright, it's because I won't be able to leave here knowing full well I'd have to wait until you come back to have sex with you again."

"You're going to leave?"

I touched the side of his face. "I have to leave some time. For both of us."

Terry looked thoughtful for a few minutes. "Can you at least stay for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow?"

"A free feast? Of course I can!" I smiled.

Terry laughed and then laid his head back on my chest. After a few minutes he spoke quietly. "Why do you have to leave?"

"I'm not leaving yet. Let's just enjoy the time we have and worry about that later." I placed my hand on the side of his face. "Sleep now, I'll still be here when you wake up."

As time went on, I fell asleep. Like _asleep_ asleep for the first time in a long time. I fell asleep with Terry in my arms.


	26. Tease

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

-A/N-  
Be sure to check out JessieMundaiFan's forums for a topic about who would be the top: Edward or Jacob. We can settle this debate once and for all. :D

26. TEASE

I woke up early the next morning. I was still kinda tired, but you could never make me tired enough to want to miss watching Terry sleep on my chest.

His face was so peaceful, so unburdened with the problems he was dealing with. I wanted so much to be able to take away the pain he felt, to take away the fears he had. But it just wasn't something I could do.

I smiled weakly and caressed the side of his sleeping face. I let my mind wander and it went to 'why didn't Terry tell his mom about us?'. I wanted to know, that's for sure. But being here, with Terry, made me realize that it didn't matter. He had his reasons as to why he didn't tell her. He could tell her when he was ready to.

I started to think back to last night. I guess I kinda freaked out his friend with my admittance of being in a relationship with Terry. _I should go apologize for that. I'll do it later…_

As time went on it started to get painfully hot in Terry's room. I was only wearing shorts, but my high body temperature was making Phoenix's heat unbearable. I carefully lifted Terry off of my chest and laid him down on the bed.

I stood up and took my shorts off throwing them across the room. _That feels sooooo much better…_ Naked. That's the way I liked to be, especially around Terry.

I climbed back into bed and laid Terry back on top of me as he was. Terry's body heat was still making me pretty warm, but I'd take heat stroke over not having his body touch mine.

More time passed and Terry started to wake up. He started moving a little. "Jacob…?"

"I'm right here."

"I know that. You're umm… naked." He lifted his head and looked at me.

I smiled. "Yes. Yes I am."

"Why?" He rested his chin on my chest, staring into my eyes.

"Is that a problem?"

"I dunno. You're teasing me, you know that, right? 'We're not having sex tonight, but that doesn't mean I won't flaunt my goods.'" He did his best to impersonate my voice.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Hey, it got really hot in here. And it's not my fault, 'my goods' flaunt themselves."

The door opened and Jeff walked in. "Terry, can you help me with-God, Jesus!" He raised one hand and shielded his eyes. "I thought we discussed that we'd hang a sock on the door if we were going to be having sex?"

"Oh God! Jeff, no! We're not…" Terry looked at my naked body and back at him. "Ok it may look like that, but we weren't-"

"Don't-don't explain." Jeff interrupted him. "You guys can finish doing _whatever_ it was I interrupted, but when you're done, I could use some help getting the turkey and stuff prepared." He shook his head and left, closing the door behind him.

Terry turned back to me and shot me a look. "Do you see what you do?"

"What? What did I do?"

"What do you mean what did you do? You're the one naked in my bed." He poked my chest.

I sat up, pushing Terry onto his back and knelt over him. "And you're the one who likes it."

His eyes ran up and down my body before they held my own eyes for a few moments. "Are you sure we can't have sex now? Jeff gave us permission."

I placed my arms on either side of his body and brought my face close to his. "Like I need his permission…"

"Jacob…" He leaned his head in towards mine for a kiss, but I jumped out of bed before our lips touched, leaving him confused. "Hey…"

I picked up my shorts and put them back on. "Yes?"

"What're you doing?" He sat up, flustered.

"Puttin' my shorts on, why?" I smiled at him.

He stared at me. "But… I thought we were gonna…"

"You thought we were gonna what?" I did my best to act ignorant.

"You know what? Forget it." He got up and pushed me.

"No, come here." I grabbed his shoulders and pulled him to me, pressing his body to mine. "Terry, you know I'm just messing with you."

He tried to squirm free from my grip. "Yeah, whatever…"

I smiled and placed my hand on the side of his face, pulling his face to mine. I pressed my lips to his and he gladly accepted my kiss. As our kiss grew in intensity, his body started grinding against my own. I walked forwards, pressing his body up against the wall.

As our tongues freely explored each other's mouths, I lifted him up, wrapping his legs around my waist. I took a few steps backwards, no longer using the wall for support. I held his body to mine as he straddled my hips. I broke out of the kiss and we both just stared into each other's eyes. "Jacob…"

It took all of my will power not to just give in to his demands. We were both seriously riled up, and he knew it as much as I did. But I didn't want to have sex with him yet. Well _part_ of me did… But my brain said to wait.

I placed him down on the ground and he stared into my eyes, frustrated. "You are a horrible person."

A slow smile crept across my lips. "I know."

"I'm gonna go take a shower." Terry turned and grabbed a towel that was hanging on his closet door.

"Better make it a cold one…"

He looked at me before shaking his head. "I hate you."

"I hate you too." I smiled.

Terry turned to leave. As he got to the door he turned back around. "You know, you should go help Jeff with the food. You're a pretty good cook. Messy… But good." He turned back once again, and left the room.

_That would give me a chance to apologize for my outbursts and nakedness…_


	27. Preparation

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

27. PREPARATION

I walked out of Terry's room and down a hallway. As I came across the kitchen, I saw Jeff was preparing a whole slew of food items for the Thanksgiving meal. To the best of my knowledge it was originally just going to be him and Terry, I had no idea why there was so much food for just the two of them.

"Hey Jeff. Sorry about earlier, it just got really hot in his room and-"

"Please don't explain." He held his hands up. "I'd really rather not know."

I smiled. "Alright. Do you need any help? Terry's taking a shower and he said I should come help you."

He turned and looked at me. He was about to say something, but then he stared at me for a few seconds. "You… don't own very much clothing do you?"

I looked down and realized I was only wearing my shorts. The T-shirt I had last night is still in the car. "I own clothes, I just don't wear much."

"So I'm beginning to learn." He handed me a bag filled with ears of corn. "Alright, here's what you can do. I want you to pull the leafy part of the corn down until it reached the bottom of the stump and then just pull off all of the uhh… the string stuff… And then fold the leaves back up as best as you can."

"Then you want me to soak them in water?" I picked up the first ear of corn and began the process.

He looked at me. "No, why would you do that?"

"You're gonna grill it, right?"

"Yeah."

I folded the leaves back up and started on the next ear. "If you soak it for thirty minutes, it won't burn on the grill."

Jeff turned back to what he was doing. "Alright then, soak them in water when you're done."

As I continued to prepare the corn, I watched as Jeff lifted the turkey out of the fridge. "You didn't soak that in a brine?"

"A what?" He placed the turkey on the counter.

"A brine. It's like a salt-water bath. If you had soaked it overnight, the Turkey wouldn't dry out as easy and it gives at a great flavor."

Jeff looked at the turkey. "I should've done that… My turkey always comes out too dry."

I stood up and walked over to him. "Let me take care of this, you go finish the corn."

"What are you going to do?"

"Trust. Do you have a big pot?" I started looking in the cabinets.

He pointed across the room. "Yeah, over there."

I walked over and opened a cabinet door and grabbed a big pot. I started filling it with water and added a good amount of salt to it. I walked back over to the turkey and took a knife out of the knife block.

Jeff looked up form his corn. "What're you doing? I thought I had to soak it overnight?"

"You normally do, but with this," I started stabbing little holes in the turkey, "the flavors will soak through faster and we won't need to soak it overnight. Maybe a couple hours at the most."

"So I guess we're eating later then."

"Guess so." I lifted the turkey and placed it into the pot. Water splashed out all over the floor. "I'll get that..."

As I washed my hands, Jeff walked over to me. "You're a chef then?"

"Nah, I just know my way around a kitchen."

"I guess Terry got lucky with you, didn't he?" He smiled at me.

"Oh yeah, about that…"

"Don't bother, Terry had already told me everything. I was just shocked that you actually came all the way from Washington." He walked back over to the corn. _Everything…?_

I laughed. "Well when you love someone as much as I do, no distance is too far to go. It also helped that I didn't have to pay for anything."

"That's right, Edward was with you. I guess we should invite him for dinner as well." He placed the last ear of corn in another pot to soak.

_I guess he doesn't know everything…_ "Yeah, we should. He's probably just sitting in the hotel room doing nothing."

"I'll have Terry give him a call later."

As Jeff and I continued preparing different food items, we began to joke around a little bit. It was kinda nice to have a normal person who wasn't a werewolf, or a vampire, or my imprint, to talk to. Someone who didn't believe in any of that stuff. Just a regular guy with regular problems.

I discovered he recently got laid off and he doesn't know if he will have enough money to pay this months rent. Such normal problems seemed so insignificant compared to the problems we have in Forks. Nomadic vampires, vampire armies, deranged werewolves.

Eventually Terry came out from the bathroom. "Ok, guys what do you need?"

Jeff looked around the kitchen. "Uhh nothing, really. Well you can clean up his mess, but Jacob here is pretty handy."

"That's why I keep him around." Terry smiled at me.

Seeing Terry's smile was something I'd never grow tired of. It just made me so happy to see him smile.

Jeff interrupted me adoring Terry. "Why don't you and Jacob go and do something together, you guys have been apart for two months. I'm tired of hearing you complain, 'I miss Jake', 'Why hasn't he called me yet?', 'I can't sleep without him with me'."

"Jeff! I told you those things in confidence!" Terry started to turn red.

"You can't sleep without me?" There was no way. _Were we really that connected, what both of us lost sleep over being apart?_

Terry shook his head. "Last night was the first night I've actually slept well."

I was fascinated. We both couldn't sleep without each other, and we both slept well for the first time last night. I wanted to ask Terry questions about how he was really feeling about everything, but I figured it could wait until later.


	28. Thanksgiving

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

28. THANKSGIVING

"So Edward, you're really not going to eat?" Jeff sat down with his plate of food at the table.

It was nearly seven at night by the time all of the food was cooked. Jeff's four seated dinner table was filled with food items: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, rolls, gravy, and cranberry sauce, just to name a few.

Edward smiled politely. "No thank you. I'm on a special diet. I can't eat any of this stuff, not that it doesn't smell delicious."

"Well Jacob sure knows food, you can thank him for how good all of this came out." Jeff grabbed a forkful of turkey. "It's so delicious and moist."

I tried to talk but my mouth was so filled with food, only mumbling came out. Terry seemed impressed I could shovel so much food using only one hand. Under the table, the hand of mine that was not being used as a shovel, was holding one of Terry's hands. He seemed to be having difficulty eating one handed so I let go.

Not to say I wasn't happy about releasing his hand: food can get into my mouth faster with two hands. Edward made a disgusted face as I grabbed a second fork.

When we were about halfway through the meal, Terry came up with an idea. "Well since it's Thanksgiving and all, why don't we all say something we are thankful for?"

"That's not a bad idea, I'll start if you don't mind." Edward looked thoughtful for a moment. "Ok. I am thankful for my good friends and good family. It's not everyday you find people as good as the ones I have in my life."

I smiled. I was glad Edward and I became such good friends. _But what am I thankful for…?_

"I'll go now. Let's see… I'm thankful I've got so many dishwashers to help me clean up tonight." Jeff smiled.

Edward and Terry turned their heads to me and shot me dirty looks. I had plates upon plates stacked all around me. "Jacob really? You couldn't use the same plate?"

"It's not my fault… I ate so much of everything that I needed so many plates to hold all of the food."

"You didn't need to eat it all at once!" Terry threw his napkin at me.

"Hey, you weren't this upset a minute ago, when you didn't think you'd be doing the dishes!" I threw it back.

We continued to eat in silence for a few more minutes before Terry spoke. "Alright then. I'm thankful for…" I was really interested as to what Terry was thankful for the most. I was holding my breath, waiting for his answer. "I'm thankful that I found someone that truly loves me and would do anything for me. Someone that cares so much for my safety, that he blames himself for everything that happened to me. Someone that, no matter what happens, no matter how… afraid or weak I feel, I know he will be there for me to pick me up and make me strong." He turned his head to me. "I'm thankful for you, Jacob."

I smiled lovingly. "Thank you, Terry… That means a lot to me…"

We stared into each other's eyes for a few moments, before he turned to Jeff. "I am also thankful that you were here for me when I needed it."

Jeff shook his head. "No problem. That's what friends are for, right?"

It was my turn now. "Ok here goes. I have a few things I'm thankful for. First off, is you, Terry." I turned to him and held his hand. "You give me a reason to live, you are my life. Without you, it's hard to survive. You are the light in my dark, the wind beneath my wings, and all sorts of other corny love sayings." I smiled. "You just mean so much to me and I am so glad to have you in my life."

"Forever and always." Terry smiled and squeezed my hand.

After a few more seconds of staring into Terry's eyes, I turned to Edward. "I am secondly, I am so very thankful for you Edward. When I was lost, you made it a point to bring me back. You kept me focused on what needed to be focused on. I was failing miserably in class and you brought to up. Top of the class, Edward, I still can't thank you enough for that. You were my friend when I needed a friend. You were so determined to help me that you made it your priority to find out exactly what I was feeling, just so you could help me better… I…"

"You don't need to thank me, Jacob. We're friends. That's what we do."

I smiled and turned this time to Jeff. "Last, but not least, I am thankful for you. You helped Terry when he needed it. If it wasn't for you, I don't know where we'd be right now. You helped Terry…" A sudden, painful, realization hit me in that one moment. "when I couldn't…"

"Jacob…? Are you ok?" I felt Terry squeeze my hand again.

I shook my head and looked over towards him. I couldn't see, my eyes were blurry with tears. "I… Please excuse me… I need to go lay down… or something…"

I got up and walked down the hallway into Terry's room. I dropped myself onto his bed and buried my face into his pillow. I started to cry. As I fought to catch my breath, I caught the smell of Terry on the pillow and it began to calm me down a little bit.

After a few minutes of silent weeping, I felt a hand on my back. "Jacob?"

I lifted my head from the pillow and saw Terry sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at me. He looked sad. That made me feel worse. "Why are you sad, Terry?"

"Why am I sad? I'm not the one crying…" He placed a hand on the side of my face. "Why are _you_ sad?"

I sat up. "I'm your imprinter. _I'm_ supposed to be the one who makes you feel better. I'm supposed to protect you and make the pain go away… But I couldn't… Just a normal human with a normal connection to you is able to help you in ways I can't! I'm bonded to you through the fates! Destiny has brought me to you and I couldn't fix you…"

Terry sat there silently and let me go on.

"I'm supposed to be the one to be there for you… I love you more than anything! Anything in the whole world! It hurts me to be apart from you. I _need_ to be with you, but I couldn't make your fears go away. You needed to leave Washington, leave me, to get better. I don't even know why you love me…"

"Jacob. You know I love you. You don't need to do this to yourself." Terry climbed in bed with me. "Let me lay with you, we should just talk. Have a conversation about everything we're feeling. We haven't talked like that since before I woke up in the hospital, two months ago."

I started to stand up. "I don't want to talk. Besides, I need to go help with the dishes…" _What am I doing…?_

"No you don't. Edward said not to worry about them. He'll take care of them. Please talk with me. I don't want to lose you because we don't know what's going on with each other." Terry grabbed my arm and pulled me down to him.

"You're right." We laid together in silence for a few minutes. "Can I ask you a few questions… about us?"

Terry laid his head on my chest. "Of course."


	29. Q&A

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

-A/N-

As of the past week, I had been updating one chapter a night. I'd like to tell you the reason I didn't update last night was because I was working on making the questions and answers in this chapter perfect.

I'd like to tell you that, but that would be a lie. Last night I stumbled across what might be my favorite fan fiction on here. 'Deprinting', by Cobalt Dream, is a story that takes place after Breaking Dawn. Jacob has imprinted on Renesmee, but Seth has imprinted on Jacob.

Here's the summary directly from the story itself: "Seth is in agony. He's forced to watch Jacob spend more and more time with Renesmee, and it's killing him inside, because of a certain incident - he imprinted on Jacob. As Jacob finds out that it's possible to undo the undo-able, his imprint on Renesmee is lifted, and transferred… leading to a strange series of events that changes the way everyone sees things."

It was so good that I couldn't stop reading to write this chapter. So blame it on Cobalt Dream, not me. :D I totally recommend you check it out.

29. Q&A

**Terry's POV**

We laid together in silence for a few minutes. "Can I ask you a few questions… about us?"

I laid my head on his chest. "Of course." He didn't answer me at first. After a few minutes of silence, I sat up and looked into his eyes. "What's on your mind, Jacob?"

"Terry… Why do you love me?"

His question caught me off guard. "What? Why do I love you? Jacob… You're everything to me. Why are you doubting me?"

He turned his head away. "I don't know… I failed you, Terry… I couldn't protect you from Leah, I couldn't keep your bad dreams away, I couldn't make you feel safe with me, I couldn't…"

"Jacob, look at me." When he didn't, I placed a hand on the side of his face and made him look. "Look at me. Why do you keep going back to those things? Look at where we are now. I don't have nightmares anymore. My leg doesn't hurt anymore. I'm healing Jacob. You did nothing wrong."

He sat up and moved to the edge of the bed, his back facing me. "You're healing _here_ not with me. You're better now, because you left. You got away from your problems. You got away… from me…"

My eyes started to blur with tears. "Jacob…" I sat directly behind him wrapping my arms around his chest, under his arms. "I love you… You know I only left because… because…"

"Because with me you were miserable."

It wasn't true. I loved Jacob. More than anything. I wished I knew where all of that was coming from. On the phone he always seemed fine. I kissed his back. "Jake… Whenever I'm with you I get so happy, and… You make me feel complete. I don't want to live without you."

He was quiet for a few minutes. I was hoping I was getting somewhere, but his muscles never relaxed. "Then why did you leave me…?"

The pain in his voice hurt me so badly. "Because I was losing you."

"What?"

I knew what I felt, but I was having a hard time explaining it. "When I was having the nightmares, every night when you would wake me from those dreams, you would look into my eyes and tell me it was ok. That it was only a dream. And then you'd smile and touch the side of my face. As time went on, the look in your eyes changed. You got more and more depressed and I thought you were going to lose it because there was nothing you could do."

"I know I couldn't do anything…" His shoulders slumped.

"Jacob, would you just listen please? I decided I had to leave to save us. I was afraid you were losing yourself in your misery because of what I was going through. I needed to remove my pain from your life to make you feel better. And the only way I could do that was to remove _myself_." I tightened my arms around him.

He turned around and looked me in the eyes. "You leaving made me miserable." He squeezed his eyes shut and a lone tear escaped.

"I know it did, Jacob. I know it did… It made me miserable as well. But I had to leave. We were trapped in a horrible cycle. I was in pain which made you miserable. You being miserable made me sad. Me being sad made you more miserable. I needed to leave to stop it. And Jacob, look at us. We spent the last night together, no nightmares, no nothing. I didn't leave for nothing."

Jacob stared into my eyes for the longest time. I assumed he was processing all of the information. After a long while, he leaned forward and pushed me backwards onto my back. He knelt over me and lifted my legs to rest on his thighs. He placed a hand on either side of me and pressed his lips to mine. His tongue weaseled its way into my mouth, and began caressing my own. A hand slid up my shirt and stopped when it touched something. He wrapped his hand around it and stopped our kiss. He rested his forehead on mine and closed his eyes.

It was my dog tag. "That's right Jacob. I belong to you. I always have and always will. I have never taken it off."

"Terry… I'm sorry…" He opened his eyes and stared into my own, piercing my soul.

"Sorry for what?" He had nothing to apologize for.

He took a breath. "I'm sorry for doubting you…"

"What do you mean?"

He sat back on his heels, placing his hands on my thighs. "There was a time when you first left… that I thought you didn't love me anymore… I thought that I had gotten over that _ridiculous_ idea but apparently it was just waiting for the right time to strike again. I'm sorry…"

I leaned forward and he moved so I was sitting in his lap, facing him. "Jacob… Don't worry about it. The important thing is that we're here together. I don't care about the past. I don't care about the future. I care about the now."

He stared into my eyes. Slowly, a smile crossed his face. He spoke seductively. "I want so much to make love with you, right now."

I placed my hands on his torso, trailing my fingers down his chest and stomach. "Then do it."

"Haa… I can't… Not yet."

I laid back onto the bed and he laid next to me, pressing our bodies together. "You know you're killing me, right?"

He laughed. "I'm killing me too…"

We were both quiet for a very long time. I had turned off the light and laid back in bed, facing Jacob. I started tracing the outlines of his abs, listening to the noise of satisfaction he would make as my fingers lightly grazed the skin.

"We're still not doing it tonight. No matter how much you turn me on." He smiled.

"I know." I leaned my head forwards onto his chest. "I love being alone with you like this. You make me feel like I'm all better. I love the sensation I get when our bodies touch, even in the slightest way."

His hand brushed my cheek. "It's the same way for me." Another couple of silent minutes passed. "You know… I have to leave tomorrow."

I looked up at him. "I know…" I watched as his eyes started to tear up. "What's wrong, Jake?"

"I don't know… I'm just gonna miss you…" He wiped away his own tears.

I placed my hand on the side of his face, rubbing his cheek with my thumb. "No matter how far away we are from each other, and no matter how long we are apart, I will _always _love you. Don't you ever forget that." I leaned up to him and pressed our lips together.

"I won't. I love you… _so_ much… Just come home soon." He grabbed my hand and held onto it.

I squeezed his hand. "As soon as I can. I promise. And then we have the rest of our lives to look forwards to together."

"Forever and always." He smiled at me and pulled me close to him.

-A/N-

This chapter was inspired by:

Love Song by 311

_Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am home again. Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am whole again._

_Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am young again. Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am fun again._

_However far away, I will always love you. However long I stay, I will always love you. Whatever words I say, I will always love you. I will always love you._

_Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am free again. Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am clean again._

_However far away, I will always love you. However long I stay, I will always love you. Whatever words I say, I will always love you. I will always love you._


	30. New

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

30. NEW

**Jacob's POV**

Leaving Terry the next morning was the hardest thing I'd ever had to do. But that was just it, I _had_ to.

As I lay in bed the morning after I left Phoenix, I replayed leaving in my head.

_Edward, Terry and I had driven to the airport together. Jeff had driven separately to take Terry back to his house once we left. On the car ride there Terry and I sat in the back seat. We sat as close as we possibly could, I had my arm around his shoulder, trying to bring him closer to me._

_Once we passed through the security and baggage checking, we were all sitting in the terminal. Terry sat on my lap and was looking deeply into my eyes. "Jacob… Can't you just stay here with me? Why do you have to leave?"_

"_I just do Terry, I'm too much of a distraction to you. You need to focus on getting better and then we can have as much sex as you can handle." I smiled at him, and he smiled back briefly. "I love you, that's why I have to leave. You need to trust me. You will come back to me. You will be better and we can truly be happy. We will be able to live."_

_He looked confused. "Why… does that sound so familiar…?"_

"_Because that's what you said before you left me."_

_Terry's eyes widened. My guess was he finally realized exactly what he put me through when he left._

_I couldn't stand to have him look so upset. I placed a hand on the side of his face and pulled him to me. Our lips melded into one another, a final kiss until he came back to me._

_A voice came over an intercom. "Flight 134 to Seattle, Washington is now boarding."_

_We broke the kiss and I smiled at him with a few tears forming in my eyes. "Just do me a favor, come home to me soon. Because it's not home without you."_

"_I've just got a few more sessions of therapy Jacob. I'll be home soon."_

_I pulled him close for one more hug and Edward and I walked over to have our tickets checked. As we headed over to board the plane, I turned one last time to wave goodbye to Terry with a smile._

_It broke my heart to see Terry wave and smile back through tear streaked eyes._

I sat up in my bed, and looked over towards my nightstand. I picked up the photo of the two of us and traced my fingers over Terry's face. _That's the smile you're supposed to have…_

There was a knock at my door, which surprised me because the only person who comes into my house in the Cullen's yard, was Edward. And he never knocks. "Who is it?"

"Alice. Can I come in?"

_Alice? _She had never come to see me before, I was curious as to what was on her mind. "Yeah, sure."

She opened the door and smiled her pixie-like smile. She practically danced across the room and sat next to me on my bed. "Hi Jacob."

"Hey."

"I think I finally figured out how to keep you out of your depressed funk." Her smile was completely offsetting my miserable aura I had going on.

"I'm not going shopping with you." I laid back in my bed, smiling to myself.

"Ok, well here's the next best thing then." She laughed a musical little laugh. "I can't see Terry's future."

I propped myself up on my elbows. "How is that supposed to make me feel better? That means you don't know what his future holds then."

She shook her head. "You don't understand. I can see everyone's future except for your wolf pack and those associated with you mongrels."

"So?"

"Ugh. Do I have to spell it out for you? Your class must not be very bright if you're at the top…" She laughed when I narrowed my eyes at her. "I'm just teasing you. It means that your future and Terry's future are still together. He's going to come back to you."

After my little visit to Phoenix, I wasn't doubting that Terry would be coming back. It was just a matter of when. I sat up. "Hey Alice, can you see Terry's future now? Like not his far future, because I'm in that, but like what he's going to do today?"

Alice looked off into the distance for a few minutes. "Yes. He's going to see his therapist and then going out to dinner with someone, probably a friend."

I nodded. "So when exactly do your visions of Terry's future disappear? Because that'll be when he's coming home."

She looked at me, marveled. "Maybe you are pretty smart…"

I smirked. "Top of my class. And by 'top of my class' I mean the Senior class, the class of '07."

Her eyes widened, mystified. "Wait, _you're_ the valedictorian?"

"Edward's a pretty good tutor." I shrugged.

"I guess so…"

She continued to be amazed at my class ranking and I started to get antsy. "So… your visions?"

"Oh! Right, sorry. Let me see…" Alice looked off again, this time for a longer period of time. "He'll be home by Christmas…"

I couldn't stop the smile from spreading across my face. _Christmas… That's less than a month away…_

"That means… I need to start planning a Welcome Back _and_ a Christmas party! It'll be a double whammy!" Alice's face lit up like a child on… well, Christmas morning. "Oh, there's so much to do! I'll see you later Jacob."

I watched as she got up and twirled out of my room like some super excited ballerina. "Alice is a weird one…" I leaned back on my elbows and looked up at the ceiling. "Christmas, he'll be home by Christmas."

As I laid in my bed for a while longer, thinking about having Christmas morning with Terry, the sun shone through the clouds and through my window, lighting my room. The sun shone onto my face as I turned to look out the window. It looked different. The world looked new to me. Like a haze had been lifted and I could see.

"We're gonna be ok…" I smiled and got up, ready to greet the day happily, for the first time since Terry had left. Somewhere in my mind, I realized what Terry had said was right. The past doesn't matter, I have to start living in the now.

-A/N-

This chapter was inspired by:

Brand New Day by Joshua Radin

_Some kind of magic happens late at night, when the moon smiles down at me and bathes me in its light._

_I fell asleep beneath you, in the tall blades of grass. When I woke the world was new, I never had to ask._

_It's a brand new day. The sun is shining, it's a brand new day. For the first time in such a long, long time I know, I'll be ok._

_Most kind of stories save the best part for last. And most stories have a hero who finds you make your past your past. Yeah, you make your past your past._

_It's a brand new day. The sun is shining, it's a brand new day. For the first time in such a long, long time I know, I'll be ok._

_This cycle never ends. You gotta fall in order to mend._

_It's a brand new day. It's a brand new day. For the first time in such a long, long time I know, I'll be ok._


	31. Tree

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

31. TREE

The feeling of running through the forest as a wolf was a very liberating one. There was nothing in the world quite like it. My heavy paws hitting the Earth, kicking up pieces of dirt and grass, as my speed increased. Being the second fastest wolf had its advantages. The feeling of the wind rushing by at the speed I was running at is really an experience hard to describe.

It had been a few days since I returned to Washington, and since then I decided I should pick up my shirked responsibilities to my pack. The last time I went on patrol was sometime before I had even met Terry. I was a little behind, to say the least.

_Jacob. _Seth's voice pushed its way into my mind. _You can go now, I'll take over._

_Nah, you know what Seth? Why don't you run with me? It's been a while since I've seen my best wolf buddy._ I felt I owed Seth. After all the times I've yelled at him and degraded his sister in front of him, I needed to make it up to him. And the only way I knew how was to just spend time with him. After all, I was his idol.

_Really? I'll come to you._ His voice sounded jubilant.

_Alright._ I slowed to a stop somewhere in the woods. After a few brief minutes, Seth ran out from behind some trees. _How's it going Seth?_

_Great Jake! Thanks for inviting me along._

_No problem. I missed hanging out with you._

Seth sat down. _Me too! I mean, I felt really bad that Terry left and that you were so miserable for the longest time, but I wanted to help you and you wouldn't let me._

_I'm sorry for that, but it just wouldn't help. There was nothing… you could do… _I stared off into space.

_What's wrong, Jake?_

There was no point in trying to hide the thoughts that ran through my head, Seth would hear them no matter how hard I tried. _You know, I guess I was protecting your feelings._

_What do you mean?_

_Well, I tried so hard to make Terry feel better and to try to help him through the rough time he was having. But no matter how hard I tried, it wasn't helping. _I looked at Seth. _I guess I wouldn't even let you try so you wouldn't have to feel as miserable as I did about not being able to do anything for Terry…_

Seth tilted his head. _Wow. Thanks Jake, but… It didn't matter, I wanted to help you. I would rather have tried to help and failed than to have not tried at all._

_And I took that away from you. I'm sorry._ I knew exactly how he felt. Even though there was nothing I could do for Terry, I was at least glad that I tried. I started to feel bad.

_Don't worry about it. I'm glad that you're feeling better. That's all that mattered to me. Like, what was it? Two months ago? You wouldn't even talk to anyone, and then you moved out of La Push because it was too painful to live there. But yesterday you were talking and laughing with the guys. That visit to Terry you took really helped didn't it?_

_It did. More than you'll ever know. And the best part is, he'll be back by Christmas._ Just saying that made me get excited.

_Wow, really? That's great news! We all have to hang out! _Seth stood up and started jumping around.

His excitement made me feel good. _Seth, would you like to come over on Christmas? Alice is planning a big 'Welcome Back/Christmas' party._

He stopped jumping and looked me dead in the eyes. _I'd love to._

_Well speaking of Christmas, can you help me pick out a tree? I wanna have my house decorated nicely for when Terry comes home._

_Sure! Wanna go now? _Seth turned away, ready to run off.

_Seth, Seth. We're surrounded by trees. We don't need to go anywhere._

He turned back and looked around himself. _Oh yeah._

Seth and I spent a good amount of time looking around the forest we were in for the perfect tree. We finally found one, perfectly green and full of pine needles. I discovered the hard way that Seth cannot just ram into the trunk of the tree and successfully get it down, without splitting the tree up the middle.

_Oh crap! I am so sorry, Jacob. Stupid, stupid…_

_Stop beating yourself up. It's fine. We'll just find another one. _I really did miss hanging out with Seth. He was a fun guy to be around.

Once we found another suitable tree, I had Seth run to my Dad's house and grab a saw from my garage. He ran back and sat in front of me with the saw in his mouth. _Alright! Let's cut this bad boy down!_

I watched in amusement, as Seth came to the conclusion that using a saw in your mouth wasn't an easy thing to do. I had suggested we phase back and cut it down. "Ok Seth, here's the plan. I want you to hold the tree."

He walked over and grabbed onto it. "Done."

"Now I'm gonna start to saw it down. When it starts to tip, I want you to pull it the other way."

He nodded his head. "Got it."

"Look at me." I motioned to my eyes. "So help me, if this tree falls on top of me…"

Seth started to laugh. "It won't. I promise."

"I'm serious. I don't want this giant tree to come crashing down on top of me." I placed the blade of the saw against the side of the tree.

"It won't! It won't!" As much as I wanted to believe him, I just had a strong feeling I was going to end up having to kill him.

I begrudgingly began to saw into the tree trunk. After a few swift passes back and forth, the tree began to creak and crack. "Seth…"

"I got it, I got it." The spot I was sawing opened wider as Seth pulled the tree away from me.

A few more passes was all it took before the weight of the tree and Seth pulling on it made the tree give out and start falling over. Right towards Seth. "Seth move!"

He had tripped backwards when the tree gave out and barely managed to roll out of the way before the tree came crashing down in the spot he had been, not but two seconds before. "Oh wow. That was close."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Did you piss yourself?"

"No! I sat in a puddle."

"You sat in a puddle, in the front?" I crossed my arms over my chest.

Seth looked down at him pants. "That's just a shadow, you idiot!" It was true, he stood up and the dark spot I saw on his pants was just a shadow. I'll admit it, I had wished he did piss himself. It would've been too funny.

"Alright, alright. My bad. Let's carry this thing home" I squatted down, easily lifting one end of the tree up, over my shoulder.

"Ok." Seth picked up the other end and we began the walk back to my house.

As we walked, I just randomly began to laugh. "We'd make a fine pair of lumberjacks."

Seth laughed too. "Yeah, ok."


	32. Friends

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

32. FRIENDS

"Jacob, it's not gonna fit! It's too big!" Seth started to whine.

I braced myself against the wall. "It'll fit. You just need to trust me."

"I do trust you. I just don't wanna end up getting hurt in the process…"

"You'll be fine. Terry wouldn't be complaining like you. Now move a little so I can push it in!"

Seth and I were having a difficult time getting the tree inside the house. The more I pushed the tree, the more I began to realize that it was by far too big. We had just cut down a tree from the forest. And I was trying to get that into my living room.

"Alright. New plan. Go ask the Cullens if they have measuring tape. I'm gonna try to get this unstuck from the door way."

"Ok." Seth opened a window and jumped out from the inside of my house. He had been in there trying to pull the tree inside, while I was outside, trying to push it.

I grabbed on to the trunk of the tree and pulled. The branches made an ungodly noise as they scraped against the door frame. With a few more pulls, I had successfully un-wedged the tree.

"Here you go." Seth came back over with the measuring tape.

"Thanks." I grabbed it and went inside the house noting to myself that I'd have to repaint the door frame, considering how much was lost trying to get the tree inside. Using the measuring tape, I came to the conclusion that the ceiling is about nine feet high. Walking back outside, I called to Seth. "Alright. The ceiling is nine feet high. If we take into consideration we want some space from the tree top to the ceiling, and room for the star on top, we should cut the tree so it's seven feet tall."

"Ok. Where's the saw?"

I looked at him. "What do you mean 'where's the saw'? You're the one that brought it to me in the woods."

"It's uhh… probably still in the woods." He turned away.

"It was your responsibility! You brought it out, you're the one who's in charge of it." I pointed at him.

"That's not how that works! _You're _the one who told me to get it! And _you're _the one who used it!"

As Seth and I argued, we didn't hear Edward walking over to us until he started talking. "There are pine needles… _All_ over the yard."

I looked over to him and then to his yard. There were a few pine needles here and there. _I'll just have Seth clean those up later._

"I heard you two were in need of a saw. I'm sorry to say we don't have a saw, but we do have this axe." Edward handed me a big fire axe.

"You know, I would ask why you have this… But I'm not sure I want to know the answer…" I walked over to the tree and measure out seven feet from the top, while Edward just smiled.

As I started hacking away at the mark I made, Seth started to laugh.

I stopped and looked at him. "What now?"

"You really look like a lumberjack now." He started to laugh some more.

"Oh that's funny, huh? I'm just gonna…" I readied the axe to swing it at Seth.

He held his hands up. "Alright, alright. It wasn't funny."

"That's what I thought." I turned back to the tree and chopped two more times.

"It was kind of funny."

"Edward! Shut up!" One more chop was all it took to clear through the tree. I threw the axe on the ground and grabbed onto the tree, easily pulling it through the door frame.

As I set the tree up in the corner of the room, plenty far away from the fire place, I heard Edward's voice from outside. "What did you do to the door frame?"

"Oh that. I'll take care of that. I just wanna decorate in here first." I took a step back and looked around the living room, imagining how it would look decorated.

As if on cue, Alice came twirling into my house. "Did someone say 'decorate'?"

I looked at her, a little concerned for her mental stability. "Umm… I did. I was just gonna decorate the house for when Terry comes home."

The next thing I knew, Alice was pushing me out of the house. "Nonsense. I'll decorate. You go do… manly things. We don't need you to attempt to decorate."

"Hey! I can decorate!"

"There's no use arguing with her, Jacob." Edward just shook his head, obviously speaking from experience. Seth laughed.

"Alright, fine! Just let me decorate the tree, please. I want to leave my mark on the house." I stopped struggling, succumbing to Alice's need to be party master.

She had pushed me a little harder, making me nearly fall to the ground. "We don't need you peeing all over the tree."

_What…? _"Oh come on Alice, that's not what I meant!" I turned back to the house and she slammed the door shut.

Seth and Edward just laughed. A window opened and Alice's head popped out. "I will leave you the tree. I can see you really want to do something nice for Terry."

"Thank you."

"What do you want to do now?" Seth looked excited because this was the first time he, Edward, and I were with each other at the same time, in a long time.

I picked the axe back up. "Let me just chop up this leftover tree stuff for the fire place, and then we can do whatever you want, Seth." I started swinging the axe, chopping what was left of the tree once I had taken the part I needed into the house.

After a few minutes, Seth and Edward started laughing again. "I'm sorry Jacob, but come on now. This is a lumberjack-like as you can get."

I sighed. "Seth, don't make me kill you."


	33. Home

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

33. HOME

**Terry's POV**

Christmas Eve. I had just finished my last therapy session earlier that day. As soon as it was over I was ready to go see Jacob. I packed up all of my stuff, smiling at the picture of us at Edward and Bella's wedding before I put it in my bag.

Jeff was nice enough to drive me to the airport. Disappointingly, the only flight to Seattle was at seven at night. A two and a half hour flight puts me at nine thirty. Forks is a three hour drive from Seattle. I wouldn't get home until twelve thirty if I had a normal person picking me up from the airport.

Luckily Edward was there to pick me up. "Don't worry. I won't take three hours to get home." He smiled.

On the car ride back to Forks, I asked Edward all about how Jacob was doing. Apparently he was doing much better. He was hanging out with Seth a lot and he was doing patrols again. Edward even told me that he, Jacob, and Seth all hung out a few times.

We pulled into the driveway at the Cullen's house at eleven o'clock on the dot. Edward had cut the travel time in half. "I told you it wouldn't take three hours." He pointed to a building in his backyard. "That's where he's been staying."

I threw my bag over my shoulder and grabbed my suitcase. "Thanks, Edward. For everything. Paying for my tickets, taking care of Jacob, paying for Jacob's tickets as well as your own. Thank you."

He shook his head. "No problem."

I walked into the backyard and saw one of the windows of the guest house was dimly lit by an orange glow. As I got closer to the house, I look inside the window. The orange glow was from a fireplace. I looked around the room and saw there were many decorative trinkets all around. Tinsel, garland, decorative blankets. There was even a tree in the corner of the room, lit up by all sorts of colors. The little lights on the tree were slowly fading from red to green to blue. There were several ornaments hung on the tree, each with a mirrored surface reflecting the lights all around.

And then my eyes caught the most important thing in the entire room. Jacob. Asleep on the couch. I smiled and quietly crept around to the front door and slowly opened it. I gently placed my bags on the ground and walked into the living room. There he was. Laying on the couch on his back, one arm up behind his head. His shirtless torso rose and sank in a peaceful rhythm. A blanket that had the words 'Merry Christmas' stitched onto it, was covering his legs.

I saved looking at his face for last. His beautiful face was truly calm and serene. His mouth hung slightly open as a quiet snore escaped his lips. I eased my way over to the couch and placed one arm on the back of it. I looked at his face one more time before I closed my eyes and leaned in, feeling the familiar warmth of his perfect lips on mine.

I opened my eyes just as he did. His eyes widened in surprise as he said, "Terry?" his mouth still intertwined with my own. I broke out of the kiss and stood next to him as his eyes stared directly into mine. He sat up and the light from the fireplace shone onto his face, giving his eyes a gleam. "Is it really you?"

I smiled. "Of course it is."

Jacob stood up and the blanket that was covering his legs fell to the floor, revealing he wasn't wearing any clothes. "I-I'm so happy to see you…" A small tear formed in one of his eyes.

I smirked as I glanced towards the lower part of his body. "I can see that."

"What?" He looked down. "Oh… Umm… Why don't you join me on the couch?" He laid down on the couch and pulled me on top of him.

"I wasn't interrupting anything, was I?" I repositioned myself on top of him.

He smiled. "I was just dreaming about you."

"Oh yeah? What were we doing in the dream?" I ran a finger down his chest.

"Something that we will be doing very shortly… But first, how are you?"

I sat up on his stomach. "I'm good, Jacob. I really am. I am so glad to be back. I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too." He looked over at the clock. "Alice was right. You came home before Christmas."

I smiled. "I heard you and Seth are really hanging out a lot now. That's good he deserves a friend. Especially with what we've put him through." I thought for a moment. "How's Leah?"

"What?" Jacob looked a little cautious.

"How is Leah?" I didn't think I needed to explain it anymore.

He looked at me for a while. "She's… good. She's still seeing her therapist, though."

"I would like to see her some time."

Jacob stared into my eyes. "Alright."

Now it was my turn to be confused. "What do you mean? No worry about whether or not it's a good idea?"

He smiled. "I trust you."

I leaned down and kissed him. As our tongues glided across each others, he grabbed my hips and started grinding me onto his crotch. I pulled back from the kiss and looked into his eyes. "Jacob… I love you…"

The light from the fireplace on his eyes did well to convey the lust and desire in his voice. "I want you…"

I leaned my head close to his, nodding, and pressed my lips to his.

He pulled my body to his and stood up, laying me on my back on the couch. He knelt over me, his hands on the sides of my arms. "You don't know how long I've waited for this… The feeling of us becoming one again. Our bodies joining… I love you…"

I looked up at his lust filled eyes. "I've waited just as long. And I know exactly what you mean…" I trailed a hand down his chest.

He lowered his head, resting his forehead on mine. "Welcome home, Terry."


	34. Christmas

-A/N-

As of yesterday I posted a new story called 'Midnight Fun'. It's not entirely a new story per se, it's just sexual scenes that were not written in any of my stories chapters. So the first chapter in 'Midnight Fun' is the first time Terry and Jacob have sex. And the next chapter will be the next time.

You don't need to read it to get the full effect of the story, I wrote the story first. Those chapters are just for those of you who want a little lemon in their story.

It's rated 'M' for obvious reasons.

On a side note, this will probably be my last chapter until Friday. I'm going on vacation and I won't have my laptop or internet access. So you guys are going to have to deal with this chapter to hold you over.

I'll try to make it a good one. :D

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

34. CHRISTMAS

**Jacob's POV**

As the light from outside poured through the windows and onto my face, I woke up. I felt a twinge of sadness as I realized I had just been sleeping and it was all a dream.

_It couldn't have been a dream… could it?_

I looked around the room and Terry was no where to be found. If it was real, he would've been sleeping on me like he normally did. I sat up and rested my head in my hand. "So he won't be home for Christmas…"

"Who won't be home?"

I picked my head up at the sound of his voice. I looked over to the kitchen and he was in the door way. _Terry…_ He stood there wearing the pajama pants and T-shirt he used to wear when we slept. Over that he had on an apron, that was covered with spilled food items. "Terry!" I got up and ran over to him, pulling him to me.

He laughed. "Terry's right here. Good morning, Jacob."

I let him go and held him at arms length. "Good morning and Merry Christmas." I stared into his eyes, afraid that if I were even to look away for one second he would disappear.

"Merry Christmas." He stared back into my eyes with his baby blues. There were no words to describe how happy I was that he was home. "Can you let me go now?"

I shook my head. "Never."

He laughed. "Well then your breakfast is going to burn…" With that, I spun him around and pushed him into the kitchen.

I sat down at the table and watched him move around the counters and stove, preparing eggs, pancakes, bacon, and sausage. "Since when do you cook?"

"I cook. I just figured since you always made breakfast for me, on Christmas morning, I'd make you breakfast." Terry smiled as he placed a plate of food in front of me.

"Well thank you." I started to devour the food that was placed in front of me as Terry sat down with his plate. "You know, I am a little disappointed."

"What, is the food no good?"

"Oh no no! It's fantastic. I'm disappointed that the first night we spent together again, I woke up alone." I waved my fork at him.

He looked at his plate for a few seconds and then back up at me. "I just didn't want our first morning together to be on the couch. I want it to be special."

"Any morning with you is special." I shoveled more food into my mouth.

"You're words are so beautiful, but you are so disgusting…" He started to take off his apron.

"You love it." I watched as he hung it on the back of his chair. "Hey, you can't make fun of me for being a sloppy cook anymore. Look at all the stuff you've got on there."

Terry laughed, shaking his head. "When I make a mess, it's all on the apron, where it's supposed to be. When you make a mess, it's _everywhere_. So I will continue to make fun of you."

After we were done eating, I washed the dishes and we sat in the living room on the couch. I had my arm wrapped around his shoulders, as we stared at the tree.

"Jacob, did you put those presents there?"

"What presents?" I didn't put out any presents.

He pointed under the tree. "Those ones." There were three wrapped boxes neatly tucked away.

"No, did you?"

"No." He got up and grabbed one.

I chuckled a little and leaned forwards. "Well they must be from Santa then."

"See for yourself." Terry handed me a box. It was labeled 'To: Jacob, From: Santa'.

"Well damn. It is from Santa." I laughed and tore off the ribbon and paper. I lifted the lid and looked inside.

**Terry's POV**

"Well? What is it?" I walked over to Jacob. He had his hands inside the box.

He closed the lid and put the box next to him. "Nothing. What did you get?"

I didn't like how Jacob wasn't telling me what he got. I hated not knowing things, but his attitude about this particular thing made me drop it. "I don't know. I haven't opened it yet."

"Go ahead. I want to see what Santa brought you." He smiled at me.

I grabbed the gift that said 'To: Terry, From: Santa' and sat down next to Jacob. I didn't rip open the paper as forcefully as Jacob did. I lifted the lid of the box and peered inside. Inside was a DVD case. I lifted it out. "A movie?"

"Lemme see." Jacob grabbed the case and opened it. He took out the disc and walked over to the TV. He put the disc in the DVD player and pressed play.

As the movie began to play, I felt my eyes getting moist. Jacob sat next to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders pulling me close to him. The movie was a video of us dancing at Edward and Bella's wedding.

It was something else to see my facial expression as Jacob sang to me as we danced at the wedding. I was clearly in love.

Jacob stood up and held his hand out to me. "Care to dance?" I smiled and took his hand. We moved to the middle of the living room and slowly started to rock back and forth. I rested my head on his chest, listening to his strong heartbeat. I laid his head on top of mine.

It felt so right to be home. I had missed the feeling of being loved like that so much while I was gone, but I needed to go. And since I came back, I felt so much better and I could really enjoy all of Jacob's love the way I was meant to.

We danced until the song ended and we both turned to look at the TV. We watched as I said, 'Jacob…' and leaned my head up to kiss him. While we kissed on the video, Jacob turned my face to his and pressed his lips to mine.

When the kiss ended, both Jacob on the video and the real Jacob said at the exact same time. "Terry, I love you."

I smiled and spoke in tandem with my video self. "And I love you, Jacob."

Jacob stared into my eyes for a few minutes longer before turning off the video and grabbing the last box from underneath the tree. "One more." It was a smaller box and it said 'To: Jacob and Terry, From: The Cullens'. He handed it to me. "You open it."

"Alright." I took the box and tore off the paper. I opened the tiny box, and took out its contents. I held it up to Jacob. "A key?"

Jacob thought for a moment and then grabbed the box. "Look there's a note. 'Dear Jacob and Terry, You are probably wondering what kind of a gift a lone key is. We will discuss it during dinner at Alice's Welcome Back Terry/Merry Christmas Party. -Carlisle'."

"A Welcome Back Terry/Merry Christmas Party?" I asked.

Jacob laughed. "Yeah. Well, Alice will be Alice."

I looked at the key for a few more seconds before I put it back in the box. I turned to Jacob. "What do you want to do now?"

"Hang on." He got up and walked out of the room. When he came back he was holding an envelope. "Here."

"Jacob… I didn't get you anything, now I feel bad."

He laughed. "You coming home to be was plenty gift enough. I feel I owe you."

I shook my head and opened the envelope. Inside was a slip of paper. I read the paper and thought it was for someone else. "A tattoo? You're giving me a tattoo?"

"This one." He pointed to his right arm.

"But that's your wolf pack tattoo. I'm not a part of the pack." I didn't want to violate any sacred traditions.

"You're my imprint. You're every much a part of the pack as I am. I already asked Sam. He said it's ok." He smiled.

"Does Emily have the tattoo?"

He nodded.

"Where? It wasn't on her arm." Although I did only see her once.

"She has her's on her lower back." He wrapped his arm around me.

I loved the fact that Jacob wanted me to 'join' his pack. It made me feel even more involved with him than I already was. I looked up into his eyes, glad to be home.


	35. Dinner

-A/N-

So I'm not leaving for vacation until tomorrow morning. Looks like you guys get another chapter before I leave.

I sure do hope I have some nice comments to come back to… *dreamy sigh*

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

35. DINNER

The time before Christmas dinner was a little more depressing than I thought it would be. I mean, it's Christmas, right? Time for joy?

Seth had come over, Jacob had invited him to join us for the dinner the Cullens are preparing. I liked seeing Seth again. He seemed really cool with everything that went on and he said how glad he was that I had come back. I liked Seth, he was a good guy.

Bella came to the dinner as well, and much to my surprise, Edward spent more time with Jacob and Seth than he did with her. And even _more_ surprising, Bella was completely ok with that.

I watched Jacob, Edward and Seth all joke around, talking about stuff that I had no idea about. I apparently missed a lot while I was gone. Jacob was laughing and smiling and having an all around great time with them.

Even though Jacob looked happy, I saw sadness in his eyes. He may not have been sad, but I left him with emotional scars.

I felt horrible.

Time didn't stop while I was gone. There was a time that Jacob was miserable because I left and that hurt me more than I could describe. I wanted him to know he would never have to live like that again. I would never let him feel pain like that again.

Even though Jacob had made amends with Seth, and even became great friends with Edward, he still wore the pain all over his face. But I seemed to be the only one to see it.

I was with Jacob, like his lover, for four months. I was actually _with_ Jacob for only one month. I had left Jacob alone for too long. I made up my mind at that point to not miss another day with him.

**Jacob's POV**

The time before Christmas dinner was a lot of fun. But anyone would think that. I mean, it's Christmas, right? Time for joy.

Seth, Edward, and I were having a good time just hanging out talking about whatever came to mind. I guess you can just do that when you're with friends. You don't really need a 'game plan', you can just do whatever and it'll turn out fun.

Right before dinner, Edward pulled me aside. "So, it has come to my attention that you're keeping your gift a secret. Did you like what Santa brought you?"

I laughed. "Yeah, it's almost as if Santa knew what I was thinking and was able to get the perfect gift for me."

Edward shrugged. "Santa Claus works in mysterious ways…"

I shook my head as he walked over to the table and took a seat next to Bella. She lit up when he sat next to her and I felt a bit bad that I had been taking up all of his time lately.

I turned and saw Seth sitting a chair away from Terry, waving me over. "Jacob! I saved you a seat!" Terry looked up and smiled when his eyes met mine.

I walked over and sat between the two of them. "Thanks." Seth started talking to me, but out of the corner of my eye I saw Terry just staring at his plate. I grabbed his knee under the table and squeezed it. "What's wrong?"

He looked up at me and shook his head. "Oh, nothing. I was just thinking."

"What were you thinking about?"

He shook his head again. "We can talk later. Enjoy your time with Seth, I've got you all to myself tonight." He smiled.

Emmett apparently overheard what Terry said. "Speaking of which… I just want to point out you guys are _so_ loud when you're… doing your thing…"

Terry turned red and covered his face.

_I don't… Oh…_ I started to laugh. I thought about last night, and the events that took place when Terry got home. "Yeah I guess you are pretty loud, aren't you?" I placed my hand on his shoulder.

"Jacob…" Edward closed his eyes and held his hands out. "If you could never think about that near me again, that would be fantastic."

I burst out laughing and Terry turned even redder.

Alice and Esme walked into the dinning room holding several dishes of food. They placed them on the table and went back in for more. Esme was practically glowing she was so happy. "Seth, I'm so glad you decided to come as well. I got to cook food for _two_ werewolves. It's just a shame the rest of the pack couldn't come."

"Well they already had other plans. But they sure don't know what they're missing!" Seth grabbed a plate and started to dig in.

He was right, Esme and Alice make the best food. There was ham, and turkey, and rolls, and gravy, and mashed potatoes, and baked potatoes, and sweet potatoes, and stuffing, and all sorts of food. I didn't know where to begin.

I ate two full plates and Esme came out with more food. "Don't be shy, we've got plenty. And we've still got dessert too."

After two more plates of food, and half of a chocolate pie, I began to feel full. I figured I should stop eating at that point.

Carlisle stood up at the head of the table. "Well now that you are all done eating. I'd like to take some time to explain your gift from us." The Cullens all smiled at the mention of the gift, well except Rosalie, but she doesn't count.

"That's right, the key." Terry reached into his pocket and pulled it out.

"Jacob, Terry, we all know how serious you two are. For one, Jacob has imprinted, and for two, I have never seen more passionate love than the love I witnessed on the dance floor at my son's wedding." Carlisle motioned to Edward and Bella.

_Yeah, so Terry and I love each other… What does the key have to do with any of it? _I was dying to know how the pieces fit together.

"Edward had brought to my attention that you would like to move out and get a house of your own someday. And until you do, our gift to you two is our guest house."

"What?" I wasn't sure I heard him correctly.

He laughed. "It's yours. You had already moved out of your father's house, and I imagined it would be uncomfortable to move back in there until you find a place of your own. Think of our guest house as a midway point. You're out of your parent's house, but not quite on your own just yet."

Terry stared at him, wide-eyed. "Really?"

Carlisle nodded.

"Thank you, Carlisle, all of you. This really means a lot to us. And Emmett… We'll try to keep it down for you." I smiled.

Dinner ended shortly after that. Seth thanked everyone for having him over and headed home. Terry and I decided we too should go home. Even if it was only in their backyard.

He got into bed, wearing the pajamas that he used to wear. "That was really nice of them to let us stay here until we get our own place."

I climbed in next to him. "It was, wasn't it?" We both just laid in bed for a while, before I remember that Terry had something to tell me. "So what were you thinking about at the table?"

**Terry's POV**

I didn't want to just beat around the bush, so I just said everything I had on my mind. "Jake… I missed out on a lot while I was gone. So much time passed and I hate that I wasn't here to spend that time with you. Three out of the four months we've been together, we've spent apart."

He opened his mouth to speak.

"Let me finish please. I left you alone and miserable because I needed to leave to get better myself. I hurt you, so I could heal. I know you hurt now because of it. I can see you're in pain, behind those happy eyes. I have to make sure you know you will never be alone again."

Jacob stared into my eyes for a while, his eyes softening as time went on. "There was a time, maybe a week after you left, that I felt like I couldn't take it anymore. I was tempted to end it all. I was so ready to give up, but I didn't. I held on to the hope that you would come back."

"Don't you ever think like that again. I won't let you. Come here." I felt tears in my eyes as I reached out to him. He leaned into me and hugged me tightly._ You thought about killing yourself… _There was no way I was going to leave him alone again.

He rubbed my back and spoke softly to me. "You don't have to worry about that anymore. You're home and I couldn't be happier. If you're still upset about missing so much time… We'll just do what you told me in Phoenix. Don't worry about the past or the future. Focus on now. We'll live every single day like it's the only one there is."

I leaned back and he held me at arms length. I stared deeply into his eyes. "You're right… I'm gonna be with you forever. I won't miss another day, Jacob."

He smiled. "You don't have to worry about that because I won't let you."

-A/N-

This chapter was inspired by:

Never Gonna Be Alone by Nickleback

_Time is going by so much faster that I... I'm starting to regret not spending all of it with you. Now I'm wondering why I've kept this bottled inside, so I'm starting to regret not telling all of it to you. So if I haven't yet, I've gotta let you know._

_You're never gonna be alone from this moment on. If you ever feel like letting go, I won't let you fall. You're never gonna be alone. I'll hold you 'til the hurt is gone._

_And now, as long as I can, I'm holding on with both hands, 'Cause forever I believe that there's nothing I could need but you. So if I haven't yet, I've gotta let you know._

_You're never gonna be alone from this moment on. If you ever feel like letting go, I won't let you fall. When all hope is gone, I know that you can carry on. Were gonna take the world on. I'll hold you 'til the hurt is gone. Ooooh._

_You've gotta live every single day like it's the only one, what if tomorrow never comes?_

_Don't let it slip away, could be our only one, you know it's only just begun. Every single day maybe our only one, what if tomorrow never comes? Tomorrow never comes._

_Time is going by so much faster that I... I'm starting to regret not telling all of this to you._

_You're never gonna be alone from this moment on. If you ever feel like letting go, I won't let you fall. When all hope is gone, I know that you can carry on. We're gonna take the world on. I'll hold you 'til the hurt is gone._

_I'm gonna be there all of the way. I won't be missing one more day. I'm gonna be there all of the way. I won't be missing one more day._


	36. Resolution

-A/N-

I'm back from vacation. Sunburnt and ready to write more. That couple of days was exactly what I needed to refocus myself. I decided I'm going to use the vacation spot I went to at some point in the tale of Jacob and Terry.

Not much else to say, other than sorry I left. :]

I do not own any of the characters presented in this story other than Terry. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

36. RESOLUTION

**Jacob's POV**

"Five… Four… Three… Two… One…" Everyone at the Cullen's house counted down to the New Year.

Alice, being Alice, invited the pack to the house for her New Year's Eve party. They couldn't say no, they had no plans and Alice promised food. As we all sat in their living room, watching some sort of timer Alice rigged up, I pulled Terry close to me.

When the timer reached zero, everyone in the house cheered out 'Happy New Year!'.

I placed my hand on the side of Terry's face, pressing my lips to his. It was a passionate kiss, a kiss of promise. The New Year's kiss is a big deal, it's a means to convey the message that you want to spend the next year with that person. It's supposed to be good luck.

I didn't need a corny promise like that, though. I didn't need luck. I had Terry and nothing was going to take him from me again.

"Terry, can I talk to you?" The voice interrupting my kiss with Terry made me freeze. It was Leah. I didn't know how exactly he was going to react. I told Terry I trusted him when he said he would be ok, but you can never be too sure.

Terry nodded and stood up, following Leah out of the house. Before he left the room, he turned to me and smiled. Mouthing the words, 'I'll be fine.'

I hoped so.

**Terry's POV**

When Leah and I got outside, we both stood there awkwardly. She had her back to me and I just stared down at my feet. A strange sensation coursed through my body, I couldn't quite place it. It wasn't fear, or anything like that.

"Terry…" Leah turned around. "I'm sorry. I really am. My actions in the clearing that day… I can never take them back. No matter how much I wish I could. I feel horrible about what I've put you and Jacob through…" A noise that sounded like a mix between a laugh and a sob came out of her mouth. "We have a few rules in the wolf pack…"

I stood in silence, still staring at the ground. I still didn't know what I was feeling.

"The biggest rule… is the one I broke. We're not supposed to attack another's imprint. I-I did. Jacob had full right to attack me for that. He should've killed me for what I did to you. For what I put you two through. I'm so sorry…"

I slowly walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Look, don't worry about it anymore. It's in the past. Jacob and I are living in the present. We don't look back on that day in remorse. If anything, we look back and see that it was that day that brought us to where we are now. We're one step closer to living on our own. To living our life together."

"It's because of me you're not already living your life with him…"

We were both silent for a few minutes. I watched as her facial expressions contorted with self-loathing and disgust. "Leah… I'm sorry that love hasn't found you yet."

"What?" She looked up at me.

"I'm sorry that you haven't imprinted yet. But I really hope you do. Maybe then you'll see that it's no use being hung up on problems in your past. You need to live now." I smiled.

For the first time since I've known Leah, her normally angry and hate-filled face, smiled. A little bit of happiness broke through her misery. Hope. That's what she needed.

After a few more minutes of silence, she thanked me for forgiving her and wishing her luck in finding love. I felt good that I made peace with her, that it's no longer a problem. I stayed outside for a while after she left. I could hear from inside, Edward was playing the piano and everyone was singing Auld Lang Syne. The lyrics made me smile about what had just taken place. 'Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and days of auld lang syne?'

I felt warm arms wrap around my waist from behind. "That was really nice of you, Terry…"

I turned my head to see Jacob smiling at me. "I just told her the truth."

He stared into my eyes for a brief moment before taking my hand. "Come here."

Jacob led me into our house. We walked into our bedroom and he sat on the edge of the bed, motioning for me to sit next to him. I sat on the bed, a little worried given how nervous Jacob looked.

**Jacob's POV**

I tried to take a few breaths to calm myself. _I just need to start talking…_ "Terry, I love you more than anything in the entire world."

He smiled and placed his hand on my thigh. "I know that. I love you too."

I placed my hand on his and squeezed it, his smile giving me the courage to do what I wanted to. I had never been one to get so nervous, but I just couldn't help it. "I can't promise you big expensive things. I can't give you flashy cars, big houses, anything like that. All I can promise you is all of the love in my heart. Forever and always."

Terry stared into my eyes. "What's… what's going on Jacob?"

I smiled and knelt before him, taking his hand. "Terry… I want to spend the rest of my life with you being bonded in every way possible." I reached into my pocket and pulled out my Christmas gift from Santa. "Terry Prokop, will you… will you marry me?"

**Terry's POV**

"What…?" I stared, wide-eyed, into Jacob's big, brown eyes.

He looked at me with love and passion that I nearly started to cry from the emotional overload that his question was putting me through. He said it again. "Will you marry me?"

He opened the little black box he took out of his pocket and inside sat a ring. It looked to be platinum with a rectangular diamond in the middle. A little inset traveled around the ring. It was too beautiful to describe in words and do it justice. I slowly reached out and picked it up. Along the inside was engraved the words, 'Forever and Always'.

A warm thumb wiped away a tear from my eye. I looked back at Jacob who was still smiling at me, still waiting for the answer to his question.

"Yes." A big smiled crossed my lips.

Jacob's face lit up as he stood up form the floor and pushed me back onto the bed. His lips were on mine in an instant, a new found desire and passion about them. "Terry… you've… made me… so… happy…" I could barely make out the words between kisses.

Jacob got off of the bed and pulled me up to him. He took the ring and slowly slid it onto my finger. We both looked at the ring sitting on my finger for a while. Still holding my hand, he kissed the ring, before going back to kissing my lips. I placed my hand on the side of his face. "Jacob… I love you."

"I love you. Forever and always." He stared into my eyes, conveying more love than anyone could ever do in words alone.

I was about to begin the rest of my life with Jacob Black. My life was on it's way to perfection if I wasn't there already in Jacob's arms.

-A/N-

Look at that. We have made it to the end of Endless Night.

Shortly I will begin work on it's sequel. But before then, what did you guys think? How many of you guessed Jacob's gift from Santa was the engagement ring? A picture of the ring is on my profile.

Again, any questions, comments, anything, are more than welcome.

Thank you for reading.

~Jack Stall


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